Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 through 23:
21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult* a brother or sister,* you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell* of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister* has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister,* and then come and offer your gift.
Anger can rob us of all joy. It can warp our sense of balance. And it can rob us of all our grace.
Yes, there are things to get angry about. Jesus got angry. You bet. But BEING angry is no place to be.
We have to search ourselves. We have to find and name the places of anger and resentment which trip us up, hold us back, and can really in the long run disable opportunities for reconciliation and connection, and can also have us doing all kinds of little passive aggressive things that freshman in high school psychology class could tell you just ain't right, much less healthy.
When Jesus said for us to leave our gift at the altar and first go and be reconciled with our brother, he was bringing to mind the story of Cain and Abel and the gift Cain gave that was rejected by God, perhaps because Cain was so angry and bitter inside.
Anger's desire is to consume yes. We have to control it.
St. Paul said, "Do not sin in your anger."
We all have anger inside us. Sometimes this is a good thing. It is a natural reaction to the unfairness and injustice of life. I wouldn't take that kind of anger away from anyone.
But the anger cannot consume us. We have to master it. We have to use it. But we cannot be overcome by it.
Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
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