Help Me Understand: Anger
The problem we have with anger is the motivation behind it, how we express it, and how we direct it. These determine whether our anger is right or wrong.
Sin isn’t a popular word. Most people think of sin as doing something really bad, like murder, assault, or robbery. But the word “sin” has the idea of missing the mark, not hitting the target.
The idea is that God has set a glorious standard and when we fail to live by it, we sin. We say, do, and think things that are contrary to God's standard, and the problem is that no matter how much we try and achieve change by ourselves, we just can't succeed.
The Bible teaches that our nature is imprisoned to sin. We miss the mark because we choose creation over the Creator. We look to succeed by our own strength, yet we never shake our own selfish sin. No matter what our education, religious heritage, ethnicity, or financial status, we cannot overcome the power of sin by ourselves. This is a problem.
The problem we have with anger is the motivation behind it, how we express it, and how we direct it. These determine whether our anger is right or wrong.
Indeed we have not only accommodated our lifestyles to mirror the world's attitudes, some have even developed a prosperity theology that promotes materialism and consumerism as a divine right.
As I thought about this I wondered, “Why does Jesus have to return at all?” Couldn't He just plan it so when people die they go to heaven or hell and then, when the divine Timekeeper says time has run out, it's game over?