"Stop being angry! Turn from your rage!" Psalm 37:8 NLT
His answer to the ills of his life was to stick out
his bottom false teeth.
Ronnie was twice my age, but we soon became fast
friends. His life had been a series of downturns. Most recently, back surgery. I
was hired to make up for the work he couldn't do because of his back
limitations. He was on desk duty, so I became the gopher who did the heavy
lifting in the warehouse.
I felt sorry for Ronnie. To be sure, he had made some
bad financial decisions, but his surgery had set him back. Family members were
almost non-existent-and so were friends. He borrowed from his workmates-a
practice which put him further behind.
The thing that stood out the most about Ronnie was his
angry attitude. I could understand his frustrations. His life had been and was
tough. But to stay angry all the time? His anger wasn't an episode; it was a
state of being.
I was eventually laid off and moved away, and I lost
track of Ronnie. Through a mutual friend, I found out he had contracted a
disease and died. I asked my friend if he had changed, and he said, "He was the
same ole Ronnie." Sad.
The psalmist gives good advice when he says to stop
being angry. While it's possible to be angry and not sin, it is difficult. Most
of our anger erupts in sinful attitudes, words, and actions. Being angry over
sinful situations is permissible-and I should be as a Christian, but acting in
sinful ways to remedy them isn't.
Anger is often a result of my unwillingness to forgive
those who harm me-or even to forgive God for the things I perceive Him as
allowing or bringing into my life when He has the ability to prevent them. I
think deep inside Ronnie was angry at God for his miserable life. Unforgiveness
destines me to live in a perpetual state of anger. Forgiveness releases me from
it.
Good anger will motivate me to use the adrenaline
produced to act in beneficial ways. If I'm upset by abortion laws, I don't shoot
abortion doctors-but I can use my rights as a citizen to try to get them
changed.
Don't live in a state of bad anger. Rather, turn your
anger into good actions that benefit God's Kingdom.
Prayer: Father, take away our negative anger and
replace it with actions that benefit others.
Martin
Wiles
Hodges,
South Carolina, USA
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.