IT'S AN ANGRY, ANGRY WORLD!

Man's anger does not promote
the righteousness God requires.
(James 1:20)

Nap-ghanistan and Chi-raq!  Those are the names given to two of our nation's cities who have skyrocketing numbers in violence and crime (Indianpolis and Chicago)!  Indianapolis used to be snidely called Nap Town or as Hilary Clinton infamously referred to it, India-No-place.  Compared to other midwestern cities, there just wasn't a lot to do here and was a virtual  snooze fest when it came to excitement ... NOT ANYMORE!

It's never been easy living in America, and as my husband is fond of saying, look at our country's history, we were founded on violence!  So true.  Instead of a chicken in every pot, as was promised by Herbert Hoover in 1928,  decades later we now have instead, a gun in every house! 

And not mere firearms mind you, for general protection but assault weapons. Guns used in war, to bring down the enemy, devastate any and everything in their path, designed for mass destruction and readily available to anyone with a hundred bucks--chump change for the average American teen!  WHY DO WE NEED THAT MUCH FIRE POWER?!!

We live in an angry world! A world without conscience or pity for the innocent, but allows one to not just get pissed off (pardon the language but the word actually is in the bible, see I Kings 16:11) but to RAGE against perceived injustices by people and/or circumstances! Anger is one of those negative emotions that we really need to get a grip on! Our survival as a people depends on it!

As you might imagine the Word of God has much to say about Anger!  Some equivalent of the word appears about 234 times in the King James Version.  That being said, in the human context it is usually about how to avoid  it, the destruction it causes, and the management of the emotion in ourselves in order to produce the righteousness that God desires (James 1:20).  Still, it's a real problem, even among Christians!  Here are a few things to think about: 

1. GET REAL ABOUT YOUR ANGER- ADMIT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!
If people you were once close to start avoiding you, leave the room when you enter or you keep hearing that you need help with your temper, believe them!  Nobody wants to be around a hot-tempered person (Prov. 22:24)

2. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN HEALING!
Stop making excuses.  It's not just who you are. Your loved ones don't just have to take it, or leave it!
Get the help you need and cover all the bases.  Sometimes irritability has a physical cause (see a medical doctor), sometimes it has an emotional cause (see a mental health specialist), but most of the time it has a spiritual cause (see a biblical counselor), Leave no stone unturned! (James :17)

3.  DEAL WITH ANGER ON A DAILY BASIS!
There is something called righteous anger.  Jesus displayed it in the Gospels when He overturned the money changers tables in the temple. Anger can be used to motivate us into action for good and just causes, but one must be careful even in that. We can be angry but sin not, as Ephes. 4:26 says. Exercise your anger in wisdom and don't forget the latter part of that verse. Don't let the sun go down on your anger!  CONFESS IT,  RESOLVE IT OR SIMPLY LET IT GO! But DO NOT LET IT FESTER!!!  This is the catalyst for much of the anger we see in the world, a root of bitterness that cannot be contained.  (Hebrew 12:15)

JESUS IS THE HELP AND HOPE  FOR  VIOLENCE IN THIS ANGRY, ANGRY WORLD! TRY HIM AND SEE WHAT A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE HE WILL MAKE!

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

If you would like to leave a comment please send an email to: sisters4sisters@att.net OR  scroll to the bottom of my blog page at  http://alittlewiser63.blogspot.com  click on the  no comments by the pencil and it will change to a writing space.