Friday, March 6, 2015

BE ANGRY BUT SIN NOT



In my life, I have repeatedly found myself in situations where I was upset but then made to feel as though I had no right to be. I think we have all found ourselves in situations that caused us to feel angry. There seems to be an expectation for people not to become angry. If you get angry, you aren't kind. If you get angry, you couldn't possibly a Christian. These views could not be farther from the truth. I was once in a training for CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and the facilitator made a statement that made all of the sense in the world but I had never thought about it before then. Anger is not the initial emotion. Most people move to feeling anger after one of three - hurt, fear, or disappointment. These are all feelings that are acceptable and understandable, so why is not anger more understood? Why am I not allowed to feel anger and still be a good Christian person? Being a kind person does not mean that you don't hurt, you don't feel fear or you don't have expectations that sometimes don't get met. On any given day a person can encounter situations that could lead to feelings of anger.
                                                      

Ephesians 4:26-27King James Version (KJV)

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

27 Neither give place to the devil.
Our responsibility lies in how we respond to the anger. Incorrect responses include but are not limited to retaliation, revenge, retribution, withdrawal, shutting down or internalizing. Recognize the source of the anger and process the feeling from there. Address the hurt, face the fear, verbalize your expectations. Find your peace and rest in it. 
Love Y'all!!! 


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