GOOD ‘N’ ANGRY

          Uncontrolled anger is not only a menace to society, it is a SIN.  Do not be hasty in your heart to be angry.  Anger resides in the bosom of fools  - - so says Solomon (Eccl.7:9).  Paul warns of outburst of anger (Gal.5:20) and wrath (Col.3:8).  Many attempt to downplay and or justify their anger by claiming, “That’s just the way I am!".  In his epistle to the church at Ephesus, a letter written to many who were new in the faith, Paul essentially tells them:  you used to be ‘by nature children of wrath', but that’s got to change (Eph.2:3).  Rather than being easily infuriated, we must learn to be swift to hear, slow to speak and SLOW TO ANGER (Js.1:19).  Proverbial wisdom cautions:  an angry man stirs up strife (Prov.29:22).  It saddens us to ponder how many churches (in our brotherhood and neighborhood) have been torn asunder by members who couldn’t control their tempers.   

          While not a sin in itself, anger is frequently mismanaged - - running the gamut between unbridled expression to unhealthy repression.  Within the Ephesian letter we also read, be angry, yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger (Eph.4:26).  These words connote a sense of urgency in dealing with anger and are reminiscent of Jesus’ command to make friends quickly with your opponent (Mt.5:25).  When anger's allowed to fester for days (and even weeks, months and years) it is almost always results in a catastrophic explosion accompanied by heartbreak and pain. 

          Not only is anger not always bad, sometimes is it wrong not to be angry.  John the Baptizer was a firebrand who lost his head, not because he lost his cool, but because he refused to wink at sin (Mt.14:1-12).  There are a slew of immorality issues that are currently stressing our beloved nation - - sins that are going unchecked which are working to erode cultural mores and long-held Biblical values.  We must not sit idly by while our Judeo-Christian foundations are crumbling beneath us.  As Christians we don't have a license to be haughty, mean or nasty, but we do have a holy obligation to speak out against wrongdoing.  You can mark it down - - if we decide to just go quietly into the darkness it will be our downfall.

                                                                                                Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ