Lord, Don’t Let Me Lose My Mind Up In Here!!!!!!
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry?" "Why is your face downcast?" If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? If you do what is not right, sin lieth at your door and it desires to capture you, but you must master it. How many of us fail in this area? Do we allow anger to control us? Yes, allow. Anger is real, and because it is such a strong emotion, it is easy to react with some type of physical response. I had the opportunity of visiting a courtroom recently, and on the wall was a sign that read; " He who angers you, controls you." My first response was, "What, No Way!" Anger stops the flow of blessings. It is the weight the apostle Paul warned us to lay aside. Why? Because it can easily beset or slow us down. The great prophets of old were victims of anger. David, the jealousy and ultimate murder of Uriah; Moses, the slayer of the Egyptian; and Esau, in his pursuit of the brother who wronged him. Anger, when uncontrolled, is a dangerous emotion that can lead to violence, emotional hurt, mental anguish, and spiritual damnation. It hinders us from developing attitudes that are not only pleasing to those around us, but to our God as well. Self-control is a must for the believer. In fact, it is the definition of temperance, which is the attitude we are to possess as children of God. As examples of Christ, we are not only responsible for our actions; we bare the blame for our thoughts. The scripture declares, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Not only are we what we eat; we are what we think as well. Being angry with someone who wronged us in some way appeases our desire for revenge, but Jesus calls us to forgiveness. If he is truly the Lord of our life, then we must take on his attributes. We must remember that while we were yet sinners, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. He could have easily said, "Hey, I did nothing wrong, why should I die? Man is the one who disobeyed, so let the chips fall where they may. Many of us would have said it. But no. Jesus, our joy in times of sorrow, the only hope we have for a brighter tomorrow, said, "Father, prepare me a body, I will go down as a propitiation for man’s sins. I will become sin so that he can be righteous. I will become low so that he can be exalted, I will die, so that man might live. If God can give up his only Son after man had wronged him, then we must not allow anger to control us. We must stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Anger is bondage; physically, emotionally and definitely spiritually. Just as Christ resisted using violence, bitter words, and anger against the enemies of his Father, we are to resist even the tendency to become angry. Lord, help us as we endeavor to fulfill all of your commandments is my prayer for all of humanity. We cannot afford to lose our mind. As the United Negro College Fund declares, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Anger is a waste of our time as well as our peace. In conclusion, please consider this: The price of a nice summer vacation-$2,000; the price of owning my retirement home-$300,000; knowing we can walk in forgiveness and live totally free of anger. It is priceless.
Travestine J. Wright |