“Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20
When compared with
Christ’s example of godly anger, I’m afraid my own anger doesn’t “make the
cut.” My anger is usually self-righteous and self-serving. Recently I was faced
with some criticism that really stung. I felt like it was unjust and
inaccurate, so I thought I was justified in getting “a little hot under the
collar.” My first reaction was to try to explain my original actions, and when
I realized that my accuser wasn’t interested in listening, I condemned my
accuser to “death by silence.” I set myself up as investigator, prosecutor,
witnesses, judge, jury, jailer, and hangman. I had all the bases covered, and I
felt pretty good about meting out “justice” for my wrongful accusation. Then I
started my studies for the week. I had to read four articles on anger, and I
thought, “Well, this should be an easy week. I don’t have a problem there!” How
deceitful and self-righteous my heart is! It was easy for me to see anger in
the heart of my accuser, but I self-righteously held myself to a different
standard. I could be “miffed” because I was the one that was wrongfully
accused! I used a more subtle form of anger – silence – to coerce some sort of
remorse from my accuser. That was easier to justify than harsh words and open
hostility.
I fought a long
battle with this scenario. I knew that I should have a Christ-like, gracious
response to the situation, but honestly, I would rather justify my sinful anger
by cloaking it and giving it a nicer name. When I finally asked myself the
question, “What do I love instead of God?” the answer was clear. I was loving
and serving my reputation, my pride, my self-righteousness, and other’s
opinions before God. I was not seeking God’s glory. I was not seeking the good
of His people. I was seeking ME, MY RIGHTS, MY REPUTATION! I am grateful that
God patiently exposes my heart through the mirror of His Word. Not only does He
reveal my sinful heart, but He gives HOPE: repentance, forgiveness, and the
power to change by His grace!
“Hatred stirreth
up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” Proverbs 10:12
“And above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the
multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
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