WHY PEOPLE REMAIN TRAPPED IN ANGER

WHY PEOPLE REMAIN TRAPPED IN ANGER

By Dwight Cunkle

Part eight based on The Anger Trap by Dr. Les Carter


Eph 4:25-27 25 ...each of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer the question of love and boundaries. The social outcast (Samaritan) had plenty of reason to avoid the stranger in the ditch. The religious persons in the story passed on by, but he was willing to be interrupted (he went near to the one in need and touched him). The Samaritan chose to get involved (inconvenience changed his plan). He personally invested his own resources without expectation of being paid back. He could have reacted with judgment and anger and self-protection but instead he modeled love. He extended his personal boundary to include a stranger from a group different than his own, and he acted in compassion. 

To be a good neighbor means to be free from prejudice, past hurts, and to be willing to allow God to open my heart to receive and to give His agape’ love.
Review from previous weeks:
Understand the positive purpose of anger.
Become aware of the choice to handle anger in a healthy or unhealthy way: assertiveness combined with sensitivity to others. Choose not to suppress anger, be openly aggressive or resort to passive-anger (silence, poor work ethic, complaining, making excuses, blaming others, feeling like a victim, feeling sorry for myself or shunning accountability.
How am I influenced by family patterns to treat me and others with respect or defensive reactions?
Become aware of insecurity, pride, self-absorption, fear of being disrespected or devalued as a person, and myths I may believe about anger.

The purpose of anger is to preserve or protect. Anger is tied to the craving for love, admiration and significance-sometimes it is a cry to be relieved from pain of insecurity, pride, self-absorption, fear.

When Truth Comes

By Dr. Richard Lineberry

In the book, Well Intentioned Dragons, Marshall Shelley comments on the “dragon of personal criticism,” by saying we must pay attention to the criticism that is leveled towards us from time to time.  “Solitary shots should be ignored but when they come from several different directions, it’s time to pay attention.  If someone calls you a mule, ignore him.  If two people call you a mule, look for hoof prints.  If three people call you a mule, get a saddle.”

Proverbs 9:8 says “reprove a wise man and he will love you.”  It is, however, one of the ways God uses to improve us.  When truth first comes to us, it is often in a negative form because we really don’t see ourselves as others see us.  That’s the problem!  God speaks to us as we really are while we often try to act like someone we aren’t.  God speaks to me at the reality place, not the wishful place I think I occupy.

The hope of the Christian is to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ.  That is a lifetime process, not a single experience.  There is lots of unraveling to do on the inside of us.  Remember the story of how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead?  As soon as he came out of his grave, Christ gave the order to remove the grave clothes.  When we give our lives to the Lord, He wants us to disassociate ourselves from everything that smacks of our old nature.  For that to happen, we must hear God’s Word and believe that what He says about us is true and trust that He will change us into new, different and better people.  A change in our thinking about God, ourselves and others is part of the program.  The ways we react to difficulties and fears change as we draw closer to the Savior.  Overall, the change is for the best.  From the Gospels, we see Christ’s life so much different than our own and usually wonder how we could ever be like Him.  We must remember that He has given us His Holy Spirit to bring glorious changes in us.  If we stay faithful, we become people equipped with heavenly resources for the best kind of life.  Let us not despise the correction that comes from the Lord.  Like a loving parent, He has better things for us. 

 

My prayer for us today is that God’s Spirit will bring healing and spiritual freedom that we may walk more closely with Him.