it's the
automatic
vibe in you
Sunday, May 25, 2008

I suddenly feel a strong aversion towards you.

I'm sorry.I know its wrong but please do not...

I repeat DO NOT disrespect ME.

Believe me i will stand firm with what is right. You need to be saved.

I need to CHILL.

ANGER

Anger is not always sin. God is angry (Psalm 7:11; Mark 3:5), and believers are commanded to be angry (Ephesians 4:26).
Biblically,anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems.
But anger turns to sin when it is selfishly motivated (James 1:20), when God’s goal is distorted (1 Corinthians 10:31), or when anger is allowed to linger (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Instead of using the energy generated by anger to attack the problem at hand, one attacks the person instead.
Anger becomes sin when it is allowed to boil over without restraint, resulting in a “sawed-off shotgun” consequence in which everyone in earshot is hurt (Proverbs 29:11),leaving devastation in its wake...often with irreparable consequences.

One can properly handle anger by:

  1. recognizing and admitting one’s selfish anger and wrong handling of anger as sin (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). This confession should be both to God and to those who have been hurt by our anger. Nor should one minimize that sin by calling it “getting a little hot the other day” or by blame-shifting: “well if you wouldn’t have acted the way you did...”
  2. Seeing God in the trial. This is especially important when people have done something to offend YOU specifically. James 1:2-4; Romans 8:28-29; and Genesis 50:20 all point to the fact that God is sovereign and in complete control over EVERY circumstance and person that enters your path. NOTHING happens to you that He does not cause or allow.
  3. Make room for God’s wrath. This is especially important in cases of injustices, especially when done by “evil” men to “innocent” people.
  4. Do not return evil for good (Genesis 50:21; Romans 12:21). This is key to altering our anger into love. As one’s actions flow from one’s heart, so also one’s heart can be altered by one’s actions (Matthew 5:43-48)...that is, one can change one‘s feelings toward another by changing how one chooses to act toward that person.
  5. Lastly you must act to solve your part of the problem (Acts 12:18). You cannot control how others act or respond, but you can make changes that need to be made on your part. Overcoming one’s temper is not something that is usually accomplished overnight. But with reliance upon God through prayer for help, Bible study, and reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit, it can be overcome. As one has allowed anger to become entrenched in one’s life by habitual practice, one must also practice responding correctly until it too becomes a habit replacing the old ways.
  6. Communicate to solve the problem. There are four basic rules of communication shared in Ephesians 4:15,25-32.
  • Be honest and speak (Ephesians 4:15,25). People can’t read our minds, but speak the truth IN LOVE.
  • Stay current (Ephesians 4:26-27). Don’t “sand bag,” letting the list of what is bothering you build up until the “dam busts” and you lose your temper.
  • Attack the problem, not the person (Ephesians 4:29,31). Along this line, one must keep in mind the importance of keeping the volume of one’s voice low (Proverbs 15:1). Yelling is usually a form of attack toward the person.
  • Act, don’t react (Ephesians 4:31-32). Because of our fallen nature, our “knee-jerk” reflex, our first impulse is usually a sinful one (verse 31). The time spent in counting to ten should be used to reflect upon the godly way to respond (verse 32) and to remind yourself how anger is to be used to solve problems not create bigger ones.

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