A Powerful Emotion

Good Morning Everyone! Check out the subject line... What do you think is on my mind? Well, the powerful emotion I'm talking about this morning is not Love... Its Anger. The very sight of the word stirs the heart, doesn't it. When was the last time you were angry? Not just angry, but spitting nails angry to where you wanted to explode? Anger is one of those emotions that doesn't seem to me to be rooted in Truth. It is an emotion that Satan uses against us at any moment. It causes us to curse at complete strangers, yell at our children, and hurt those we love more than we could ever imagine.

My overarching question for all of us this morning is WHY? Why are we so weak that we allow anger in our hearts? Why, when we seem to have control over almost everything else, can anger slap us in the face? Why do we do we disregard the essence of love (patience and kindness) and become so quick to react. I will allow myself to be a case study on the very subject today.

You see, last night I was faced with yet another challenge of parenting and that challenge's name is Will. He is an extremely strong willed and curious child. He does not react well to yelling, nor does he react well to constant praise. Will is very pragmatic and responds well to structured, firm discipline. Last night, I became very, very angry at an incident that occurred earlier in the day and was truly ready to scream at him. However, God entered the equation and allowed my Mom and my wise Wife to talk me off the ledge prior to having a discussion on the issue. I realized my reaction had nothing to do with the issue itself, but my expectations of a 5 year old to constantly make the right choices. How could I be so short sighted as to not give my Son the respect of a calm discussion on the subject? After all I'm 36 years old and I make poor choices daily.

God's ability to intervene was well received and I found that Will was more embarrassed by his actions than I would have initially thought. We were actually able to talk it through and I'm hopeful that he will do better in the future. Notice I said do better. The devil will not raise that bar of expected behavior on me. I'm just glad that there was a clear recognition of right and wrong. I can't imagine how ineffective my screaming would have been. Thank you Lord for the Patience! Thank you for helping me see past the blindness of my anger.

The next time you are faced with a situation in which you are quick to anger. I encourage you to take a moment... Take a breath... Even take a walk before you react. During this time pray not only for the situation, but the person with which your anger is directed. You may just be surprised how quickly and effectively God will intervene.

James 1: 19-20 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for a man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."

There are so many things for us to be thankful for during this Holy Week, but the gift of life in Christ is above all. Let us not waste that gift. Let us be more like him in any way we can.

Love and Peace to you in Christ,
Steve