Be Angry - But Sin Not

[ShuutokuTentei]

Be Angry - But Sin Not

One would almost find such a statement as rhetorical, yet there
is much grieving in explaining such a statement. What makes it so
difficult is the morass we often find ourselves in trying to define
anger and sin. It is easy to list and enumerate, for that is what men
do. Over the expanse of time, man laws have come and gone, often
leaving a spiritual residue that somehow took on the label of sin.
Jesus understood this when he spoke as he did. What further leads us
to a troublesome dichotomy is Jesus speaking of grace, and seemingly
at the same time reassuring us that he did not come to change or
circumvent the law. Then as it is now, such a dichotomy leaves some
confused and unsure of just what a sin is. For all faiths, sin is not
a simple matter of just saying it is any transgression against God,
although that is none the less true. Or is it?

Anger too has many disguises. Psychologist suggest that depression is
anger turned inward. Lawyers suggest that the face of anger has many
expressions such as rage, hate, and passion. Thus we measure the
anger of rage and hate differently then the anger of passion. A
doctor sees anger as an integral process of life and death. Those who
wear the cloth call it religious indignation. Is it any wonder that
any of us can truly grasp the meaning of anger? So many definitions
of the same word. It in some ways it makes me angry that anger is so
hard to define. But then am I really angry?

So can we put anger and sin in the same sentence like I am doing? Can
you be angry and sin not? This task although seemingly easy, is
actually quite monumental for most of we mortals. It is not because
we cannot read the listed law(s). It is not because we cannot sort
through and label what face of anger we are experiencing. It is
simply most monumental for us because of “Self”. When we introduce
self into the equation, things begin to deteriorate, sometimes rather
spontaneously, and quite quickly. So I suppose the question then is;
Did Jesus become angry and sin when he turned the money changers
tables over? Well, did their sin cause him to sin, or was he
correcting a sin in deference to his father? Perhaps the answer to
the question is another question. How much of self was in what Jesus
did? How could a man/God such as he, die for us, and give up self …
Yet be guilty of self? The answer is a simple one … He is God!

ShuutokuTentei RS2010
http://www.arkofthecovenantyhvh.com/