”My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20
Have you ever found yourself saying to someone you care about “It’s me – it’s just the way I am!”?
Thankfully I have people in my life who lovingly and gracefully nudge me in healthy directions.
When I recently said, “…it’s just the way I am” it was in the context of me getting feedback that it was sometimes difficult to approach me on certain topics because I tended to be grumpy and sensitive about them.
As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I felt a nudge from God as if to say “Dave, would you ever accept that statement from a person who claimed to be a Christian?”
Of course not. Why? Because as Christians we believe that we are new creations, submitted to Jesus and committed to becoming more like Him day by day with the help of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:10; John 14:26).
I can use all the cute words I want to describe it: grumpy, fussy, temperamental or cranky but it all amounts to minimizing what it is: at times I am too quick to anger.
This week we’ll be looking at anger and what the Bible has to say about it. I’m hopeful that God will use this study in my life and maybe yours.
And if you don’t struggle here, maybe our study this week will help you pray for a grumpy person in your life.
To Prayerfully Consider: While I would NOT recommend pointing out to your friend or family member that they have an anger issue today, I WOULD recommend that we take our own personal inventory of if and how we struggle with this emotion or are somehow touched by it, asking Jesus to open our eyes to opportunities to become closer to Him through our study this week.
