(this post is part of our series on dealing with anger)
There's no better way to describe this last type of anger other than calling it unnecessary, wasteful, silly anger...
How are we silly in our anger?
Grumbling
“Do not grumble against each other.” James could not have put this any simpler nor any more precise. DO NOT GRUMBLE AGAINST EACH OTHER. If we look at this action, we can see how it's the easy way out! When we grumble it shows that we are not willing to deal with our problem since we will not say out loud what we are feeling. Instead we duck and divebomb leaving nuances and cryptic clues as to what the actual problem is. Like distant thunder, we can hear it coming but never know when the storm will hit!
Nit picking
Have you done this? I have! As soon as we dislike someone we nitpick at ALL their faults – from the clothes they wear to the way they talk! Here's a truth that I've learnt in life... the people we initially nit pick often become our closest friends… maybe it’s because we realise how similar they are to us!
I think that silly anger sometimes seems harmless at the outset and an easy way out to dealing with our emotions or channeling our discomfort, but in the end, it's just the same old anger that boils over.
Unfortunately, there are so many people in Church who fall prey to this type of anger, they're often the people that we call 'grumpy' and excuse their behaviour.
But, if we want to become Christ-followers who encourage and build His Church, we need to route out grumbling and nitpicking, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and not be conformed to the patterns of this world (Rom 12:2). It's hard - but with Christ's help and the encouragement of other Christians, we can do it!
There's no better way to describe this last type of anger other than calling it unnecessary, wasteful, silly anger...
How are we silly in our anger?
Grumbling
“Do not grumble against each other.” James could not have put this any simpler nor any more precise. DO NOT GRUMBLE AGAINST EACH OTHER. If we look at this action, we can see how it's the easy way out! When we grumble it shows that we are not willing to deal with our problem since we will not say out loud what we are feeling. Instead we duck and divebomb leaving nuances and cryptic clues as to what the actual problem is. Like distant thunder, we can hear it coming but never know when the storm will hit!
Nit picking
Have you done this? I have! As soon as we dislike someone we nitpick at ALL their faults – from the clothes they wear to the way they talk! Here's a truth that I've learnt in life... the people we initially nit pick often become our closest friends… maybe it’s because we realise how similar they are to us!
I think that silly anger sometimes seems harmless at the outset and an easy way out to dealing with our emotions or channeling our discomfort, but in the end, it's just the same old anger that boils over.
Unfortunately, there are so many people in Church who fall prey to this type of anger, they're often the people that we call 'grumpy' and excuse their behaviour.
But, if we want to become Christ-followers who encourage and build His Church, we need to route out grumbling and nitpicking, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and not be conformed to the patterns of this world (Rom 12:2). It's hard - but with Christ's help and the encouragement of other Christians, we can do it!
No comments:
Post a Comment