Anger

Yesterday Graham talked about good anger and bad anger. I'm sure for many it was a difficult topic to think about and hear about. For me, the idea of anger has always been a struggle. I'm an emotional person and it used to be that it didn't take much to get me going.

But as I've gotten older, I realized that's not a healthy approach. Getting angry, and worse getting wrapped up in that anger, is not a healthy emotional response. It doesn't make you feel that good either. Often, when things are done in anger they stick with us. I know, personally, there have been times that I just haven't felt right until I've fixed problems that arose during times of anger and frustration.

Then there's another kind of anger, or disappointment. The kind that motivates you to be a positive force of change in the world. That's the kind of anger Jesus' modeled when he cleared the temple. He was frustrated with the unseemly practices of the money changers and those selling goods in the temple and he channeled that anger into making a statement, making a change.

That's the kind of model that it seems like Christians too often forget. Many Christians try to change the views of the world and reach people with the Gospel, but some go about it in the wrong way. I have long been troubled by this.

I believe abortion is murder, but I can't find the wisdom in those that would bomb abortion clinics or brutalize patients and doctors. I feel the same way about those that would commit a hate crime in the name of the Lord. Some people get so wrapped up and angry that it consumes them and their actions. Too often, that has been the response of those that call themselves Christians and claim to follow Jesus' teachings.

A while ago, a friend summed up the world's view of Christians this way, "All they know is we're against abortion and we hate gay people." When I was later talking to my father, he summed it up even more simply, saying "people only know one thing about Christians, that we hate." That stuck with me and I pondered it for several days. It seemed like an over simplification, but also seemed true. After every disaster or major world event, you can expect "Christian" leaders to say something that further whips people up into a frenzy.

That is what D.C. Talk was getting at with the line, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

The other day I was talking with a friend. I've always considered myself strongly conservative, but apparently he didn't see it that way. He dismissed me as a moderate because I didn't take a hard enough line on certain issues and the way I approach certain subjects. At first, I was irritated. But after I thought about it, I took it as a compliment.

It's taken me a long time to consider my approach, my beliefs, and what it means to me to be a Christian. I think it's part of growing as a disciple of Christ. When I was younger, I approached issues with a great deal of passion and approached those who disagreed the same way. But that isn't the model Jesus provided for us in his Earthly ministry. He didn't shun those that erred, and he didn't take a hard line with sinners, he tried to reach out to them and change their hearts.

Jesus ministry was done in love. He got angry about the things in this world he saw were broken, but he channeled it to become an agent for positive change. As Christians, we are to model ourselves after Jesus. The Apostle Paul gets at this in Colossians 3:12-14 when he says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness and love are all part of our arsenal as believers, hate isn’t.

The challenge for all of us as believers is not to avoid being angry, it's to take our anger over the areas of brokenness in our society and find a way to channel it to be a positive force of change in our community.