FELLOWSHIP OR FALLOUT
How often do you allow yourself to become angry? The Word of God provides some interesting comments regarding anger. This morning I want to deal with two. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Nahum 1:3 provides, "The LORD is slow to anger but great in power, the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. We may feel that rules or commands are bad- a hindrance to our freedom. But God gives commands to help His people thrive. Just as giving people expectations in a relationship, God gave His people expectations, and it's within the boundaries that true life is found. Did you know that holding onto anger can lead to sin? Yes, one way we often sin is by holding onto anger. When resentment takes up residence in our hearts, it twists our thinking and emotions and robs us of peace. Then, that bitterness can spill over into our relationships.
One of the deceptions we are often taken in by is the myth of comparison. We paint a caricature of anger in our minds of explosive outbursts or physical violence and convince ourselves that so long as we don't fit this mold, we convince ourselves that we are not truly angry. But anger wears many masks, everything from the flash fire of thymos (explosive anger) to the simmering resentment of orgízō (longstanding anger). It is the latter that Jesus is particularly talking about- bitterness, long-lived anger purposely kept warm in the recesses of our hearts.
It could destroy our own well-being and relationships with people. Worse, it causes impaired fellowship with the Lord. Negative people are generally shunned by other people. Anger hardens one's heart and affects GOD's work both in and through us. Further, it saddens GOD as our Father seeks to bless His children with times of joy and peace, to which angry hearts are an obstruction to those blessings.
Nahum points out that while God can rightly be angry, (the truth is we mess up a lot). Okay, maybe not you, but there are a number of people out there who are. Man should not allow anger to fester and then sin. God's anger is controlled and just, while human anger needs to be dealt with quickly and appropriately lest it create destructive consequences. So! that we are clear. We must understand that although GOD is patient and provides us with every opportunity to get our act together because of his desire for us to repent and His preference for life over death, sometimes punishment is the only option. Justice will be served, and the guilty will reap the seeds that they themselves have sown.
Learning how to control anger will lead to fellowship. Uncontrolled anger will produce fallout. Christian fellowship — our holy commonality of sharing in one Savior, through one Spirit, as one body. New Testament fellowship goes far deeper than common human friendships. At its best, fellowship is made up of deeply committed relationships, covenant allegiance through thick and thin, pain and inconvenience, and awkwardness and annoyance. Save yourself some heartache. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" is a Bible verse from 2 Corinthians 6:14 that means Christians should not enter into binding agreements with non-Christians. The verse is a warning against associating with people who don't live for Jesus and being in relationships with those who don't put Jesus at the center of their lives! Pursue meaningful relationships and control your anger to alleviate fallouts.