Doing Something Right With Our Anger
A few years ago, I was doing some simple grocery shopping at Jerry’s in Sandusky, Michigan. It’s a good grocery store with an express lane to check out. I grabbed some milk, bread, and eggs and then proceeded to the express lane. I was standing in line behind a gal that had 19 items in her cart. You know how I know that she had 19 items in her cart? It’s because the gal in line behind me counted the items and proceeded to throw a massive fit. The sign for the express lane says “12 items or less.” It really didn’t matter much to me. But to that gal behind me, you would have thought that we were dealing with someone who drove 55 mph through a school zone. She lambasted the poor high school aged girl at the checkout for allowing this injustice to happen. She even announced to the manager that her husband was a lawyer and he could slap an injunction on Jerry’s market so quick that their heads would spin. I offered to let her cut in front of me. (I thought maybe she was upset because she is only 5 foot tall, maybe 85 pounds, and carrying a 50 lbs. bag of dog food.) But she praised me for staying within the rules of the store, the store that does not enforce the rules.
I know she made that poor girl at the checkout miserable. It’s been 3 years since that happened and the poor girl still may be in therapy over this incident. Who knows? Sandusky is a small town of less than 5,000 people. I am pretty sure that the girl will see this lady again. Do you think this girl’s stomach ties up in knots whenever she sees her? Did this lady’s fit end at the store? Is it possible that she took it out on her husband when she got home? Did this ruin her day enough to take it out on her kids? How many people felt her wrath throughout the day over other what is such a meaningless issue?
We tend to get upset over some of the most meaningless stuff. The guy who cuts us off in traffic, the phone call that does not get returned, someone who rolls their eyes at us (a real pet peeve to me that I need to work on), not getting an invite to a gathering, the cable going out, spilled milk. But we really don’t get upset over the more meaningful stuff like Illiteracy, youth without fathers, racism, or abuse in Darfur.
In Mark 3, there is this interesting story about Jesus getting angry, “Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.”
Getting angry is not a bad thing. But we have a choice on how we deal with our anger. In this passage, Jesus chooses to use his anger for healing. While the Pharisees cared more about upholding rules, Jesus showed that he cared about upholding people. Instead of throwing a massive temper tantrum at the Pharisees, he chose to heal the man in need.
When you get mad, does it leave a trail of tears? Do you see that your anger does have a ripple effect? I find that much of my work, sermons, and dreams for the church is based on my anger. But I hope that my work doesn’t leave a trail of carnage. I would hope that I would leave a trail of healing, hope, and restoration for those whom I come in contact with.
I know she made that poor girl at the checkout miserable. It’s been 3 years since that happened and the poor girl still may be in therapy over this incident. Who knows? Sandusky is a small town of less than 5,000 people. I am pretty sure that the girl will see this lady again. Do you think this girl’s stomach ties up in knots whenever she sees her? Did this lady’s fit end at the store? Is it possible that she took it out on her husband when she got home? Did this ruin her day enough to take it out on her kids? How many people felt her wrath throughout the day over other what is such a meaningless issue?
We tend to get upset over some of the most meaningless stuff. The guy who cuts us off in traffic, the phone call that does not get returned, someone who rolls their eyes at us (a real pet peeve to me that I need to work on), not getting an invite to a gathering, the cable going out, spilled milk. But we really don’t get upset over the more meaningful stuff like Illiteracy, youth without fathers, racism, or abuse in Darfur.
In Mark 3, there is this interesting story about Jesus getting angry, “Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.”
Getting angry is not a bad thing. But we have a choice on how we deal with our anger. In this passage, Jesus chooses to use his anger for healing. While the Pharisees cared more about upholding rules, Jesus showed that he cared about upholding people. Instead of throwing a massive temper tantrum at the Pharisees, he chose to heal the man in need.
When you get mad, does it leave a trail of tears? Do you see that your anger does have a ripple effect? I find that much of my work, sermons, and dreams for the church is based on my anger. But I hope that my work doesn’t leave a trail of carnage. I would hope that I would leave a trail of healing, hope, and restoration for those whom I come in contact with.
Comments
Post a Comment