Thoughts on Anger

~ ANGER ~
200 years ago Thomas Jefferson wrote, “When angry, count to 10 before you speak.  If very angry, a hundred.” 
100 years ago Mark Twain wrote, “When angry count to four.  When very angry, swear.”
Most of our movies today,  “When angry, blow them away.”
Anger is expressed in our relationships in a lot of different ways. 

In anger in relationships, we have one of two strategies. 

#1.  skunks

#2.  turtles. 

A skunk is the one who, when an argument occurs, you sort of spew.  Everybody in the room knows how you feel.  You stink up the place, and you want everybody to know. 

Then there are turtles.  When the bad times come, your head goes right back in the shell. 

Neither of those ways work. 

God has a better way to deal with the anger we sometimes feel in our lives.

ANGER in itself is NOT a sin. 

It is what you DO with the anger that becomes problematic. ANGER is a God given warning light that tells you when something is wrong

We get angry when:                   unaccepted, unappreciated, unsupported, unprotected, uncertain

6 “C”s of Fair Fighting

(1)  NEVER Compare

(2)  NEVER Condemn
(3)  NEVER Command
(4)  NEVER Challenge
(5)  NEVER Condescend
(6)  NEVER Contradict

Anger moves us in 1 of 3 ways: 

(1)    AGAINST people in anger
(2)    AWAY from people in fear 
(3)    WITH people in love

You Are What You Think

After spending many years working in the county jail, I was confused why some very responsible dedicated family men -- committed some of the most heinous crimes.

I felt it was important to understand how these guys got from "point A" to "point B".
Mostly because I wanted to make sure I didn't follow in their steps.

Obviously this is a 500 word blog written by a small church pastor and not a Doctor of Psychiatry. My point, keep in mind this is written from a spiritual perspective.

I will start my train of thought there.

Most everyone understands that there is a physical world and a spiritual world.

I believe they are closely interlinked and the only way to effectively understand this, is to start with the spiritual -- which you can only understand in light of God's Word.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life" Proverbs 4:23

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2

Simply, you choose who you will be -- and your decision determines what you choose to put in your mind.

Ask yourself this, if you live at McDonalds -- all you eat for 3 meals a day -- 365 days a year, what kind of physical shape will you be in?

Ask yourself this, if you in front of the TV set 4+ hours a day -- what condition will your mind be in? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, in light of God's Word, what is the quality of entertainment I am feeding my mind?

"Fools laugh at sin..." Proverbs 14:9

 "dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

Every major sin that a person commits, is the result of a long process of evil thinking.

Even "impulsive" sin has a history of conditioning that prepared the person to act in a way that offends God.

My personal observation is that good upstanding Christian people that choose to sin, began by failing to understand that their temptation thrives in ISOLATION.

ISOLATION means that their sin doesn't want anyone to know about it.

"People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy" Proverbs 28:13

"God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of the heart" Psalm 44:21

"When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long." Psalm 32:3

My point is this, would you be comfortable allowing me, your blog pastor, to read your internet history? Your stack of bedside books?

This is important because sin thrives and grows in the dark -- in isolation.

"Gods light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions are evil" John 3:19

Our spiritual take-away from this blog is this:
"In a 24 hour period, what information do you feed your mind?"

Does what you feed your mind, please God?

Or do you choose to feed your mind things that are shallow, temporary, full of empty calories and low of healthy nutrients?

Now to address the question I started with:
"How can responsible dedicated family men -- commit some of the most heinous crimes?"

I believe the answer is found in the decisions they make on what to feed their mind.

When they allow their mind to visit the playground of porn or the tantalizing menu of recreational sex outside of marriage. They have surrendered to a terrible master, a
master whose appetite will only increase and demand to be fed.
There is no satisfaction to be found being a slave to this master called sin.

I will take this half a step futher, half a step further than I anticipated.

Count on this, if sin is your master, it will drag you deeper than you ever wanted to go.

If sin is your master, what gave you a thrill today will loose its ability to excite you and your master will demand that you "chase the dragon" by taking a step deeper into its control, in search of the original thrill you experienced from sin.

James 1:14-15 teaches, "Tempation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death (eternal seperation from God)"

What are you going to feed your mind today????