At its best, anger alerts us to injustice. At its worst, anger becomes murderous in intent. Beyond wanting to see a wrong righted, we find ourselves wishing the destruction of a person—through the use of words if not a gun.
Many years ago, I experienced a dark and prolonged feud with a co-worker. “It troubles me to say this,” I confessed to a friend, “but sometimes I truly wish they were dead.” So tormented had I become that I dreamed of this colleague’s demise. My anger at having been wronged had become ugliness of the highest order.
To the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who followed the letter of the Ten Commandments only (Exodus 20:13), no sin was committed in such situations without actual murder. But Jesus saw beyond murderous acts to their root. Intense anger was the real sin (Matthew 5:22). And murder was only one way this sin could destroy someone.
Raca was an Aramaic word used to insult someone’s intelligence. A modern equivalent might be to call someone a “dipstick” or an “idiot.” Mōre, the Greek word for “fool,” is an exclamation of hatred and is an insult aimed at destroying/blasting someone’s character. It would be like using vulgar terms to call someone worthless or good for nothing. Can you see how murderous these words are? Such contempt dehumanizes a person, declares them worthless, and seeks their destruction. Jesus warned that such words would incur the severest of divine judgment (Matthew 5:22).
All humans—even our enemies—are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). They’re to be valued. Anger may at times be a natural reaction to others’ wrongdoing, but love is to be our defining characteristic (Matthew 5:44; 22:37-39). I, for one, need the supernatural love of the Holy Spirit to love those I would otherwise sin against (Romans 5:5). How about you?
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 15:1-10
More:
Jesus gives two illustrations of how to live out this teaching in Matthew 5:23-26. Notice how both move to managing others’ anger toward us.
Next:
How can Jesus and the Holy Spirit help you to deal with people you might wish were dead? Why is it so abhorrent to God if we ridicule or swear at people?
bluefigtoast on August 14, 2012 at 1:54 am
Very well said. I have been here myself. Time, maturity, and prayer has gotten me beyond this mentality.
Forgiveness NEVER implies forgetting. Can God forget? Instead, He chooses NOT to hold our past, against us. That’s what forgiveness means.
Wayno
tom felten on August 14, 2012 at 9:30 am
Good thoughts, Wayno. For more helpful thoughts on true forgiveness as revealed in God’s Word, check out the online booklet found here.
auvencetri on August 14, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Thanks, I don’t think I have heard it in that manner. I will try not to hold the past against some one, that makes sense.
sheridan voysey on August 15, 2012 at 3:25 am
Praying for the offending person is critical. I find it much harder to harbor ill-will towards someone I’m praying for God to heal, forgive and bless.
daleproulx on August 14, 2012 at 6:51 am
It felt as though my wife was being persecuted at her job over the last year. Praise God she was blessed with a new job and able to quit! I find it hard to let go of the negative feelings towards those who I believe were mistreating her.
tom felten on August 14, 2012 at 8:27 am
We’ve all been there, daleproulx. Thanks for your honesty. May God help you release your anger and negative feelings toward others to Him. As you release this pain, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)—by His filling—can be produced in your life.
lindafrances on August 14, 2012 at 9:00 am
It seems politics brings out the worse in many of us. I know I am guilty of wishing political death on those I disagree with. My eyes were opened to the corruptness in my own heart when someone told me a certain person deserves hell and refused to pray for that person. I realized I was also a volunteer judge and executioner of eternal life for that politician. I was not praying continually for them as Jesus told us; to pray for our enemies. I’d say a prayer for our leaders eyes to be opened to God’s truth, every once in a while, but I never prayed passionately with hope that God could change a heart, like he did Paul’s. I’ve always tried to look at a person’s life, especially as a child, to see what happened to them to make them who they are today. I don’t know if that is making excuses for people to sin, but I know personally, sometimes the things that happen to you as a child can draw you to God or away from God. Bottom line is we all need forgiveness. This person is God’s child and He grieves for him, just as I would grieve for my own child, if he were lost.
tom felten on August 14, 2012 at 9:37 am
Great insights, lindafrances. It’s appropriate to identify leaders who we feel will best govern based on God’s standards. But when we disagree with the stances and ways of a particular leader or candidate, may we pray for them out of genuine concern for their spiritual well-being and out of concern for those affected by their decisions.
sheridan voysey on August 15, 2012 at 3:31 am
I love both of these comments. Paul talks about praying for leaders and rulers (1 Timothy 2:1-4). He said this while being persecuted by those very authorities in way beyond anything most of us have experienced.
And lindafrances, I think it’s a very helpful thing to consider someone’s background. It doesn’t excuse the sin but can definitely put it into perspective.
emi82 on August 14, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Praise God for RBC ministries and ODJ and ODB – the daily reading has been such a blessing in my new walk with Jesus.
This post today has rung so true with me. Struggling with a colleague for a long time, and trying to always do right has been a struggle for me and I will admit failure most times….a wise friend told me, which helped me sometimes, was that the world will hate you too…..which is wise but when I sin as it gets too much it breaks my heart at how I am failing Jesus who poured his love and grace out too me when I was a sinner too…..I pray for this person as hard as that is.
But, thank you RBC for staying real and helping us all with real situations!
Blessings,
Emily x
tom felten on August 14, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Thanks for sharing your story, Emily. So glad you’re part of the ODJ community. May God bless you as you grow in your new walk with Him!
sheridan voysey on August 15, 2012 at 3:32 am
And sometimes, Emily, a heartfelt apology can be its own witness.
joo_sg on August 14, 2012 at 11:51 pm
True anger never does us any good – kills our body cells esp when we get siezed up by it. Even anger at sin can be tricky cos can lead to self-righteousness. Been struggling long time over anger and recently been ministered to through some inner healing programme. Think anger is a bondage, a spirit which we need to be delivered from and constantly….
Another thought is that anger “spills over”. Children who are brought up in homes where parents shout and scream to ventilate learn that behaviour too. I am realising the need to control my temper because I realised its impact not only on me but also those around me, esp our loved ones…
sheridan voysey on August 15, 2012 at 3:34 am
So glad you’re getting supported through prayer in this joo_sg. We’ll be frustrated if we battle anger alone and with our own resources.
bluefigtoast on August 15, 2012 at 2:04 am
Tom —
Off topic.
Are there any thoughts of creating a mobile app for Our Daily Journey, like they have with Our Daily Bread?
Wayno
Isaiah507 on August 15, 2012 at 4:55 am
Thanks for the post Sheridan!
I have been blessed by the ODJ community for over a year now and it is amazing how some of the posts deal with issues I am currently facing.
Anger is an area I really have to work on. I realize that controlling it involves maturity both spiritually (by developing the fruits of the Holy Spirit) and emotionally (Ability to empathize, forgive and let go).
Personally I used to pride myself on never getting angry outwardly, but in reality I was suppressing those feelings which leaked out in other ways (e.g ignoring or talking harshly to an offender). In the long run this didn’t help at all and I had to become more assertive and confront people when I felt offended and aim for reconciliation-if it were possible, or keeping a respectful distance if it were not.
While murderous anger is definitely bad for every party involved. I think there is a place for righteous anger if we have truly been wronged. The challenge for me personally, is how to resolve this unavoidable feeling in a timely manner so that it doesn’t escalate to sinful dimensions and eventually make me act on it.
Thanks for keeping it real!