21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
- What is the connection between murder and anger?
- Why is anger such a dangerous emotion?
- Why is God concerned even about the words we speak in anger?
- Why would Jesus jump from your anger to your wrongdoing?
- How is forgiveness connected to anger?
I have been dwelling on anger for several days and some of you are probably getting angry about it. :-) I have fought against my anger for decades. Only once in my life have I been so angry that I truly could not see straight. I had been callously and intentionally wronged by a lab instructor. I did not do anything wrong as a result of my anger, but oh did I feel like doing something. This passage is part of the "you have heard but" series of lessons Jesus is delivering. Each of these YHHB lessons starts with an action that God had forbidden and Jesus "kicks it up a notch" by talking about the underlying attitudes. So often when we get angry, we neglect the wrongs we have done to others. We focus on the injustice shown to us while ignoring the injustice we have shown others. So as the week comes to a close, who are you angry with? Who is angry with you? Ouch!
4 comments:
This is a difficult passage - not to understand, but difficult to apply to my Christian walk. The passage here deals with anger that has turned to hate and hate can and often turns to murder. When my anger turns to hate then I have pracyiced the greatest commandment and no longer have love for God or my brother. (See Matt. 22:34-39.)If I fail to love my brother then it is impossible for me to love God. Harold, you may have changed my mind. I have always known that anger is a dangerous emotion. I too have worked at controlling my anger and I have made significant progress through prayer and help from other individuals. I will keep praying about this dangerous emotion.
I am also reminded to go to my brother and reconcile the differences that may be separating us. I have done this on two occassions and now have two brothers who are very close to me. I see the problem more as one where we as Christians do not practice this. I am guilty and I admit it.
I need to correct "When my anger turns to hate then I have NOT practiced the greatest commandment and no longer have love for God or my brother." The addition of the word NOT makes a great deal of difference to what I said.
I was very confused by anger as an emotion when I was a child and grew up angry although I was unaware that this was what I was feeling--but as I look back, I see that my anger was there for a reason, that anger is a useful emotion to safeguard our boundaries. Everyone needs boundaries, but when I was a child, my boundaries were violated again and again and I could never express the anger I instinctively felt until I was grown. (I was told to not be angry because it was unchristian, told to forgive and hold no grudges, even while I was being physically, sexually and emotionally abused.) Now I see that anger helped save me, that it by itself is not evil, that it is good to feel angry when you must be angry. Being angry and expressing it properly takes practice. I'm still learning, but I am not afraid of anger anymore.
@Anonymous, I'm very sorry for the pain that you have experienced. God made us with the ability to be angry and that has to be good. Satan can and does use our anger for his purposes. I agree so much with your statement that "Being angry and expressing it properly takes practice". Some of us turn our hurts and anger inward because we do not know how to express it properly. How does someone express the understandable hurt and anger of sexual and physical abuse properly? My feelings of anger are too connected to my desire for revenge for me to not be at least somewhat afraid of my anger. Thanks for your comment here. Some of my questions and musings will likely frustrate you. I apologize in advance for my words, but I do not apologize for God;s words. :-) I will pray for you. Thanks again.
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