crs-8-lesson-8

The transcription discusses the topic of anger and its effects on our lives. It explains how anger can arise from frustrations and unmet goals, and how it can become sin when it feeds our selfish desires. Anger can destroy relationships and lead to hatred. However, anger can also be used constructively as a warning sign and a catalyst for positive change. It is important to be aware of our anger and to seek guidance from God in understanding right from wrong. Ultimately, we have the power to choose how we respond to anger and whether it controls us or not. three, two, one. Good morning. Well, here we are again. This is Course 7 again, Attitudes and Behaviors, and today will be Lesson 8, and it's titled Anger. Let's always remember to have our coffee before we start. Never forget your coffee. Okay, so introduction. In the Garden of Eden, there was no need for anger, since it was a totally safe environment and relationship were as God intended. It was in harmony. No frustration, no worry, no fear from disappointments. But when sin entered the world, everything changed. A hostile and dangerous world came into existence. Alienated from God, anger became a natural consequence. Anger is a thing that can get in the way of our being what we ought to be. It can get in the way of our doing what we ought to do. It is a raw emotion. We all come equipped with a prosperity, propensity to be angry. It is a part of what it means to be human. Anger is a signal that tells us that something is not right. In its root form, it shows up whenever we are blocked from achieving an important goal. When something we earnestly desire does not happen, we find anger. Simple or complex, anger can be traced to one of several possible origins. It may require time and considerable effort on our part, but it is worthwhile to uncover its source. Anger has a way of hiding behind a multitude of masks. Don't we all wear masks? The person or thing that suffers the immediate fruit or brunt of this raw emotion may be far removed from its true origin. Most of us have been on both ends of such events, giving or receiving. Looking back, draw a line to the underlying source. Could it be guilt? Could it be inferiority? Could it be fear? Could it be trauma? Maybe it could be pain? When anger becomes sin, how does anger become such a deadly sin? Does it just happen? Or is it a process of several other related steps, events, thoughts, and reactions? I would like to mention here from a personal experience that one time a person told me they thought that I probably had a horrible temper. And you know what I did in a very short time after that, within a few weeks, I displayed a very horrible temper. I let that person convince me just by simple statement. He put in a thought in my head. And I realized later, I don't have a horrible temper. Why did I do that? Why not let this affect me that way? So we have to be very careful. So moving on, several things can happen with this emotion. And Satan knows how to make them work. He finds those footholds that we give him and brings them to life. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4 verses 26 to 27. When anger gets a foothold, it leads to more anger, kills joy, and ends in destruction. Following is a statement made to the White House staff by the late President Richard Nixon the day he left office. Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself. Raw emotion can quickly and easily be changed from an emotion or feeling to becoming sin itself. This is the intellectual side, our will. Once we lose it and become angry, what else do we do with it? It is our acting upon that anger that leads to sin. So anger becomes sin when it feeds our selfish desire or our goals. We allow anger to fuel something that we want for ourselves. Revenge, jealousy, and resentment are the results of this pursuit. We can find ourselves addicted to that feeling of power or control that it can have over our lives. This power is one of the many devices 2 Corinthians 2.11. Satan can utilize to keep us drawn to anger. We must be knowledgeable and alert. Unprepared anger then begins to control or rule over us as it did with Cain and killing Abel. That happened in Genesis 4. King Saul also allowed anger to rule him. On one occasion he became so angry that he threw a spear at Jonathan, his own son. We see that in 1 Samuel 18. Anger is destructive when we feed on it. Eskimos in Alaska hunt wolves in a devious way. They take a sharp two-edged knife, coat it with layers of frozen blood. Then they affix the knife in a firm place and wait in the shadows. A wolf will smell the blood and approach the knife, beginning to lick it. The wolf loves the taste of blood. Before long the frozen blood is gone and the knife begins to slice the tongue of the wolf. Now the wolf ends up drinking his own blood and does not even realize it. The wolf's lust and craving for blood causes his destruction. In a sense the wolf commits suicide. This is how anger can destroy us. We fail to recognize it. It looks like a good alternative and we rush into action. We can feed on it until we die. This is why anger is called a deadly sin. It ultimately leads to pure hatred. Anger can destroy relationships. If we learn to appreciate other people and understand where they are at, we might not be angry with them so quickly and so often. Being aware of other people can make a big difference in our lives. You know, if we just stop and think about the other's position, why are they acting maybe the way they're acting, acting a way that we don't like? Why are they doing that? Put ourselves in their shoes. You know what the old saying is, a walk a mile and my moccasins run. Moving on, my dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be one, quick to listen, two, slow to speak, and three, slow to become angry. James 119. We so often react to people with anger without understanding them or the problem. We may not have all the facts or be ignorant of the context of the situation. If we did, our reaction might be far different. Having positive regard for others helps us exercise self-control. Having been called to live a life of truthfulness, honesty, integrity, and compassion, how we treat each other is most important. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4 verses 31 to 32. Understand the function of anger in your life. Use it to your advantage for good, not evil. Refuse to allow anger to rule over you with harsh words, rage, and vengeance. It begins with understanding that the use is determined by individual choice. By our words and by our deeds, the image of who we are is reflected. Using your conversation and behavior as a yardstick, what can be said of you? By your words, you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned. Matthew 12, 37. We should be a people who reflect the beauty of Jesus to others by the way we relate to them. So, can anger be a good thing, though? How can we use anger in a good way? Anger can be used constructively if we allow it to serve as a warning light on the dashboard as we drive our vehicle. We may need to let God work on our warning system, though. When we have a problem with anger, it is because we allow our human concept of right and wrong to be the standard. We need to let God's vision be the deciding force that shapes how we understand the life and reality. The most important question we need to ask, am I being shaped by Jesus? Is your life being modeled by the hand and work of God, even to the point that you allow Him to work on your vision? If so, this will improve the way you view everything that occurs. If we fail to allow God to work on this area of our lives, anger will continue to conquer us and end up ruling us. It will twist and distort our lives. Ignore the anger warning light. Learn to watch your warning light, appreciate it, and recognize its value. Respect it, listen to the signal, so keep your eyes and ears open. Make sure your batteries are charged and working. Be aware of what anger means. Learn to let go of your self-defense. Anger or blowing up is one way of protecting yourself. It is just a blustery front to the sensitive person inside each of us. We must need to learn other and better ways to feel secure in who we are and how we project ourselves in front of others, including those who are closest to us. This will keep us from hurting, injuring, and destroying them. You know, it's those angry words, hateful words that we say to our loved ones that is probably the biggest cause of divorce. It's a very sad thing. It's such a simple thing to correct. You just treat your wife or your husband like you would a stranger, being polite and courteous. Give them a little room to be human. Moving on, the best way to do this is to remember at all times that you are a child of God. This is who you really are and God has a purpose or mission for you while on this earth. This is where our sense of peace and security comes from and it should reign in your heart and every aspect of your life. God wants you to bask in the sunlight of Jesus' love. Paying attention may not be enough. Paying attention to our warning light may not be enough. Our sense of right and wrong may need to be revisited. The truth never fears investigation. In fact, the truth is light and only serves to illuminate our path and point our feet in the right direction. We see that in John 8.32 and Psalm 119 verse 105. Otherwise, darkness prevails. While we were children throughout the rest of our lives and our rightness meter is constantly being shaped and adjusted, hopefully we learned from the wrong turns and the dead-end streets. This means that our sense of right and wrong only proves as helpful and accurate as the programming we enter into the system. In the end, we are either responsible or irresponsible. This is why we must often reflect on what is right and wrong from God's perspective, allowing his word to shape and mold us above everything else. Only the word of God provides an accurate and trustworthy understanding of right and wrong. Our rightness meter will function much better and be able to aid us in greater ways when we allow ourselves to be shaped by God. God is in the business of seeking and finding lost people. He then puts them on the right road and provides a map to keep them there. As they know or follow the map and adhere strictly to the directions and make sure you have plenty of coffee, they will stay out of trouble and experience personal growth. The rest is up to us. So in summary, when something we desire does not happen, we usually discover anger, simple or complex. Anger can get in the way of our being or becoming what we want and ought to be. Anger can get in the way of doing what we ought to do. If we fail to allow God to work on this area of our lives, anger will always conquer us. It is predictable. We ought to become angry at sin and make much needed changes. Anger will end up ruling us. The same tragic results will be experienced over and over again. It will twist and distort our lives. Engraved on the hallway arch of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado is this proclamation. In 1999, two of America's finest became mad killers. We must decide to change our behavior and keep on changing it for the better. So that ends this video.