Anger has become a global phenomenon.
Just like global warming, we may soon have Global angering. People are getting
angrier. Why, even cartoon characters, toys and games are getting angrier. First we had only Donald Duck. Now we have Squidward
and Buttercup and Angry birds.
Today, I want to very briefly
share 4 points on anger and forgiveness.
1. Pause: Anger is a strong feeling of hostility in response to pain or injustice, which incidentally
all of us experience. It is a natural human emotion. The Bible never refers to experiencing anger
as sin. Ephesians 4: 26, says - When angry, do not sin; which implies that it
is one’s reaction when angry that has the potential to be sinful, not the anger
itself. Therefore, pause for a moment before reacting. And choose to do what
the Scriptures tell us, and not what we feel or don’t feel like doing. for e.g:
choosing to remain silent when we feel like retaliating; choosing to speak
kindly to someone, at whom we feel like snapping,
choosing to honour our parents, when we don’t feel like honouring them etc.
2.
Forget: The Bible
specifies a time duration for which we can remain angry. It says’ Do not let
the sun go down on your wrath. So, it is ok to go to bed hungry, thirsty, sad, or
confused but it is not ok to go to bed angry. Reminds me of a story of a little
boy who had a fight with his
brother and became very angry with him. When his brother tried to make up,
he refused. Bedtime came, and their mother asked, “Shouldn’t you forgive your brother before the sun goes down?
Looking perplexed, he blurted out, “But how can I keep the sun from going
down?” Sometimes we are like that little boy. We hold onto grudges for a very long
time, quite forgetting the fact that anger within us destroys us more than the
person at whom it is directed. Animals too react in anger in fight or flight
situations, but that lasts only for moments, maybe for the 5 mins or 10 mins when
they face the situation. After that they
forget all about it. Humans are the only ones who have this remarkable capacity to keep anger within themselves for prolonged periods of time. However, research
proves that our bodies are just not equipped to sustain such emotions for long,
and this ultimately leads to harmful
physiological effects .
No, we can’t keep the sun
from going down. But we can keep it from setting-on our anger. And that means
we must forgive.
3.
Forgive: The root of “forgive” is the Latin word “perdonare,”
meaning “to give completely, without reservation, or unconditionally.” When we
give a gift to someone, our motivation is not to get something in return but to
make the recipient happy. Similarly, our motive in forgiving people is not to make
us feel good, although that is definitely
a desired byproduct, but our motive in
forgiving people should be to free them from feelings of guilt or shame that they may
be experiencing. That’s tough, but then we
need to remember that our role model, Jesus experienced a horrible
death on the cross, for sinners like us, not because the experience on the cross
made him feel good, but so that He could free us from our guilt and shame.
4. Pray: In Mathew
5: 44-we are told to pray for
those who persecute us. That’s not a suggestion or a
request, but a command from God. To be very honest, praying for people who had offended
me was never on my priority list. Strange, that Jesus specifically asks us to
pray for our enemies but never specifically asks us to pray for our loved ones.
Why would Jesus want us to have this discipline in our life? 2 points
- · While superficial hurts are easy to deal with, deep wounds don’t heal; they create bitterness in our heart , even when we verbally forgive the person responsible. Praying every day for people who hurt us, allows God to deal with the root of bitterness in our hearts and heal it.
- · Love, is the impetus for true forgiveness and this can only come from God. As we pray, God fills our hearts with love, thereby enabling us to love and forgive our enemies.
Before
I close, I would like to leave you with a thought – True forgiveness is unconditional,
and it is ushered in by Love. We need to have both these qualities with us, as we live in an
increasingly hostile and unforgiving culture.
