A WORD FOR TODAY, April 15, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 15, 2025
“Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve... They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves. He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple. He taught, saying to them, ‘Isn’t it written, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers!’” Mark 11:11, 15-17, WEB
Part of my prayer life during Lent has been an examination of conscience using the seven deadly sins. I prayed daily through a number of questions for each sin: Pride, Envy, Sloth, Lust, Covetousness, Gluttony, Anger. Did you join me? Remember, this was about examining yourself, not seeing the guilt of others. If you do see the sin of others, consider it as a mirror and ponder your own life in light of that judgment.
This week is “Anger.”
My Sunday school class is studying the book of Proverbs, and our focus this past week was on discipline. We are encouraged by the scriptures to give discipline, particularly parents, to encourage their children to live a life that follows a good and right path. We are also encouraged to accept discipline, particularly from God, so that we will walk in the way. This means obedience to the Word and Law of God. The struggle that we all have as human beings: what is discipline? When many people hear the word, they think of corporal punishment, or just punishment in general. But there is a difference.
What is the difference between discipline and punishment? Discipline aims to teach and guide individuals toward positive behavior and self-control, while punishment focuses on penalizing misbehavior for past actions. Discipline emphasizes learning and understanding, while punishment focuses on retribution and immediate cessation of undesirable behavior.
The difference in the way we respond to undesirable behavior is often the level of anger we are feeling. During our conversation on Sunday, we talked about the best way to discipline children. The lesson made me think about Jo Frost, the nanny who used to have a television show that taught parents how to deal with their out-of-control children. Though her methods included some punishments as necessary, she focused more on discipline, not only for the children but also for the parents. Those parents often responded with anger, not tempered by mercy or grace. This is one of the reasons why she included “time-out” for bad behavior. That “time-out” was not just for the child to think about what they did, it was for the parents to have time to calm down so that they weren’t dealing with bad behavior with heightened emotions, which often led to inappropriate punishment, and even violence.
Anger can be either righteous or sinful. After the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus attacked the very foundation of the faith of the Jews. He overturned the tables in the Temple, disrupting their religious ritual and their time with God. Note, however, that Jesus didn’t respond with emotion. After the Triumphant Entry, Jesus went to the Temple and looked around. He then went back to Bethany to spend the evening with His disciples and friends. It was not until the next day that Jesus went back to deal with the wrong that He saw in the Temple. Righteous anger is directed toward injustice and sin, but sinful anger is fueled by emotion, leading not to discipline but punishment.
God got angry. We know this to be true because the whole point of the cross was for Jesus to take on God’s wrath for our sake. He did so with restraint, for He could have (or should have) taken out His wrath on His people over and over again. We learn from His self-control that anger can be a valid emotion when it is appropriately directed. However, anger can also be destructive, especially when it is uncontrolled and fueled by selfishness.
In the Examination of Conscience that I am using as a prayer practice this Lent, anger is defined as “an emotion of the soul, which leads us violently to repel whatever hurts or displeases us.” This definition leads us to ask: Am I prone to anger? Does practically any little thing arouse my temper? Am I what is generally termed “a sore-head”? Do I fail to repress the first signs of anger? Do I fail to get along well with everybody? Do I ponder over slights or injuries and even presume them? Do I rejoice at the misfortunes of others? Do I think of means of revenge? Of “getting even”? Am I of an argumentative disposition? Have I a spirit of contradiction? Am I given to ridicule of persons, places, or things? Am I hard to get along with? Do I carry grudges, remain “on the outs” with anyone? Do I talk about the faults of others? Do I reveal the faults or defects of others? Do I reveal the faults of others from the wrong motive?
I think, perhaps, that anger is one of the hardest of the seven deadly sins for us to control in our lives. We are reminded by the scriptures that there is such a thing as righteous anger, but we have to remember that we are not Jesus. Most of our excuses for lashing out are not justifiable. Christians find themselves angry all the time and we seek a theological framework to justify it, so we point to Jesus and say, “See, Jesus got angry, too.” Yes, God can be angry in the Bible, that doesn’t mean we can properly be angry. We, after all, aren’t righteous without Jesus. Christians are called to repent of anger and to respond to those who anger us with mercy and forgiveness.
Now that we have reached Holy Week, it is time to consider the days of Lent and the impact of our fasting and other practices. We have spent the last six weeks praying about the sin in our lives and preparing our hearts for the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Has anything changed in your life? For those of you who gave something up for Lent, are you anxious for Lent to be over so you can take it up again, or have you given it up forever? What have you discovered during this time of preparation that you need to acknowledge before the Lord? Confess it today and know His forgiveness.
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