WHY ARE YOU ANGRY?

Whoa!  I'm not angry!  I'm a Christian!  It's only righteous indignation!  I'm just unhappy!  It's not my fault if life upsets me!  I haven't sinned ... I didn't cause this ... it's unfair!  


Unknowingly ....  unknowingly ... anger is at the root of many of our undesirable emotions ... stealing our one opportunity at living as a happy person on this earth!

If I told you that you (we) are sinning (this hurts me, too) you might throw the nearest heavy object, aiming for my head!  We DO NOT like to be told that we are sinning!  In fact, we do not want to come face-to-face with even one fault in us.  Most of us have our salvation down 'so pat' that a minute tinge of threat to that salvation sends us into a tailspin.   Our defense mechanism kicks in and we could tear a lion in half with our bear hands while claiming to be Christ-like.  

This is an excerpt from Laurita's comment to a devotion about 'sin' ...

A friend reminded me yesterday about a prayer group that had invited me to come share my experience in recovering from all the illness and debility in my life, which was my testimony. I had agreed, and had started out walking them through the steps that I had taken to get to my freedom. Well, we made it through the understanding that healing is for today, and that it is a consequence of the restoration of relationships. We talked about accusation and how to recognize it and how it opens the door to the rest of it. We made it through a discussion on bitterness, which is the chronic state of unforgiveness, and got all the way to the point in the Lord’s Prayer where it talks about forgiving others as a precondition to us being forgiven by God, and the whole thing came apart. I mean, the whole room rose up. When I asked what the problem was, almost all of them, protested that they felt that their salvation was being challenged; and they all went into fear. No matter how I approached it, they could not deal with it. If their salvation was going to be conditional upon their ability to forgive, then they didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t get invited back.

Note an important sentence: "... almost all of them protested that they felt that their salvation was being challenged and they all went into fear...they could not deal with it...they didn't want to hear it."

If you find yourself unhappy, frustrated, and even angry (although we don't want to admit that it's anger...we'd rather say: frustrated)  there could be a lot of different things happening below the surface and that's what you really need to figure out.

We usually put our reaction/response on automatic pilot. Usually, when something happens (however insignificant it is) the first emotion felt is anger so we just go with it and don't really think about it. By taking the time to understand where the anger really comes from will be eye opening. You'll learn so much about yourself and you may start to let some things go.

Here is another 'real people' comment to the same devotion.  This one is from Marsha:

One day about 20 years ago I shocked myself at how angry I’d gotten when I was cut off in traffic. I’d never done that before! “Wow.” I asked, “Why did I react like that?! I’m shocked.” As was often the case it was about 2 weeks later while driving down the same busy street coming upon a line of traffic I clearly heard (as though not a moment had passed between my question two weeks ago and now), “Because you feel held back.” Whoa. It was like a curtain had been pulled back from the hallway between my heart and mind and light came in. That is EXACTLY how I feel in the deepest part of me – I was in total awe. I’d like to say that ended the days of my road rage but it did not….I DID try harder..remembering my truth but if the perfect storm came together so did I. Years past with victories and defeats. Gradually, over time I began to accept HIS ACCEPTANCE of me – I began learning how much it meant to Him for my life to be fulfilling and purposeful and how much He really loved me….each of us as individuals. One day…certainly after a length of time that I should have now conquered that anger at silly drivers…one poor unsuspecting soul crossed the line. Without a thought I glared over at him and shook my head at “his stupidity”. In an instant, without a second in between He asked very simply, “Why do you keep bowing to that idol?” WHAAAAT?!! I know EXACTLY how a balloon feels when all the air is let out-humbled doesn’t even begin to cover it. “I’m bowing to an idol?!” Suddenly it was all very clear…that thing I must have considered too important to let go of...had become a god…and each time I had given in to the anger I was worshipping that idol. The reality set me free.

An overworked mom who was also caring for nieces once said to me:  "I only have one life to live and it ought to be better than this."  She was right!  

Life offers opportunities to react/respond in the natural - with emotions, words, and thoughts that are harmful.  How can we NOT become angry at the smallest things said or done?  

Skip Moen's devotion:

...ultimately the goal is to identify those basic steps that lead me to sinful actions so that I can avoid the steps before I get to the unstoppable end. Perhaps instead of fighting to exhaustion those unstoppable ends I would be better served by examining what happened before I was no longer able to control the outcome. Each time I do this, I back up until at last I see the path before it even becomes a choice—and I choose another way.   The key to righteous behavior is to divert the causal connections before they reach the explosive edge.

"Why are you angry?"  If you answer something like, "I'm so angry because my friend didn't do what I told him to" you're not digging deep enough. The other person is just a trigger for your emotion.  

Jesus Christ came to give life and that abundantly.  You only have one life to live and it ought to be better than this!  Start digging ... clean out the cause of your anger ... it's buried somewhere in your spirit.  

Pray this scripture:

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

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