Metta World Peace is the new name of Ron Artest, who is famous for breaking Michael Jordan's ribs in a pick-up basketball game and starting one of the worst NBA brawls in recent memory back in 2004. The name change was done by Artest as a way to get a new start and try to focus on the good he wants to do in the community because of his fame and basketball ability. On Sunday night, all of that came crashing down on him when he laid a vicious elbow into the head of an opponent after Artest had just scored on a dunk. If you haven't seen it, you probably don't want to watch a replay of it because the shot is rather brutal. If James Harden's head had been turned towards Artest, there would be major damage. The announcers of the game called in despicable and would result in suspensions for Artest. When your name contains the word "Peace" in it, you may want to think twice before giving in to anger. It appears that Artest simply got mad at the person who brushed past him and used his elbow as a battering ram. Of course, Artest has never been the most stable person on or off the court, but he has added to his legacy which will follow him for the rest of his life.
I began to reflect on the anger that I often feel in my own life. I am amazed at how quickly that anger can rise and my mind begins to contemplate destructive ways of expressing that anger. Oh, I forgot, I am a pastor, so anger should not be a part of my life. As you probably know, all pastors have defeated every temptation and never have any real human struggles. That last sentence was written with tongue firmly planted in the cheek. Since my younger years, I have battled having a bad temper. I look back and am saddened at the times I have allowed momentary anger to guide my actions in destructive ways or allowed myself to say incredibly harsh things which I didn't mean. But once those words are out or the computer is broken, the pain remains. We just can't take those things back.
I always knew that getting mad was the wrong way to express myself. I had seen the damage done by my hands and mouth to others and regretted it. I wanted to have victory in this area, but it was so difficult. So I was able to control the outcome of my anger, but not really the anger itself. The burning rage that is uncontrollable would begin to well up and I hated being at that place in my life. I went to God's Word and simply did a study of every passage which lists the word "anger". What I found changed my life. I found that there were two types of anger: God's anger and man's anger. God's anger always had a redemptive force behind it, though the consequences could be extreme. I found that God's anger always had to do with righteousness, but man's anger had to do with selfishness. As I examined the passages, I came to the understanding that anger in humanity is sin. I had been taught that it was okay to be righteously angry and given the example of Jesus cleansing the Temple. However, when I studied those passages, nowhere does the Bible say Jesus was angry. We have simply transferred our own feelings on Jesus and presumed He must have been angry. That was eye-opening for me because I had often tried to justify my anger by pointing to Jesus at the Temple and then claiming my anger was righteous also.
Below are some passages which discuss human anger. I would encourage you to read those passages in your personal quiet time and reflect on what God has to say:
Job 18:4 Anger tears us to pieces
Psalm 37:8 Man's anger only lead to evil
Provers 22:24 Don't associate with someone who is easily angered
Proverbs 29:22 an angry man causes trouble
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Anger resides in the laps of fools
Ezekiel 35:11 Man's anger leads to hatred and God will not stand for that
Matthew 5:22 Being angry with a brother means we are subject to God's judgment
Ephesians 4:31 and Colossians 3:8 Get rid of all anger
We live in a country where people more and more are justifying their anger. They feel it is okay and sometimes even necessary to be angry. Angry at the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Angry at the government for taxing so much of our income and squandering that money. Angry at the banks for the foreclosures. Angry at CEOs of companies who make big paychecks. Angry at the person who cuts in front of us on the freeway. Angry that we don't have a job even though we have been looking diligently for one. Angry at those who think differently, vote differently or look differently from us. We never know when there will be another road rage, parking lot rage, Black Friday rage incident. Each person getting angry feels justified in this anger, which leads to more pain and destruction.
The Bible knows how destructive our anger can be and so we have a time limit. According to Ephesians 4:26, we have until the sun goes down. God tells us this because anger will consume and destroy us. Those of us who follow Christ, we know that anger gives the devil a foothold in our lives. We know that anger is not the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Yet, we continue to compromise and to justify our anger. The turning point for me was when I realized there was no justification for my anger and losing my temper. But I also had to ask God to help me battle the rage that I often felt. So the Holy Spirit has been able to make me much more aware at the onset of anger. I can tell when I am starting down the path which leads to losing my temper, so I have a better chance of walking away before I give in. I wish I could say that I have this issue licked, but I will probably have this battle my entire life. Ron Ron reminded me this Sunday that it only takes a split second to lose focus and we crash our world in around us by giving in to that anger. If you struggle with anger, my prayer is that you will see victory. If you don't have any anger struggles, may you be blessed enough to help those who do. Then as followers of Christ, we can truly be ambassadors of His peace!
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