I am super subject to judgment.
I spend a lot of time angry, as anyone who knows me will agree. A lot of the time my anger is amusing. It may or may not even be slightly amplified as part of a bit sometimes. Sometimes it is righteous, like when I'm battling corruption and injustice. Seriously though, there is a such thing as righteous anger. We all like to portray our own anger as that kind. But I digress. That isn't what we are discussing now.
Once in a while, however, it becomes really clear how hurtful and destructive my anger toward another person can be, and why I should get out of the habit of being comfortable getting angry.
Those times that we think our angry reaction is funny, justified, or just normal still ends up hurting people. Then, consider Jesus specifically says He doesn't want us to be angry with our enemies. We should forgive them the way He did. All of a sudden that, "Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect" standard seems less and less attainable.
That's one of the main points of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
The divine standard of perfection isn't attainable. We keep lying to ourselves and acting like it is. When we fall short of it, our reaction is not to admit our wrongdoing. We instead justify however we failed so that there is a good excuse for not hitting the mark. Sure, I lost my temper and got angry like Jesus warned me not to do, but I had a good reason. The person I yelled at said something stupid. They made me angry.
What a lie. The only person who makes you do anything is you yourself.
But, this is human nature after the Fall.
In fact, this is exactly what Adam and Eve did when God confronted them with their sin. Satan, in the form of a serpent tempted our first parents to disobey God. When God asked Adam about it He tried to blame his wife. When God confronted Eve, she blamed the serpent for tricking her. Sure, Satan is the cause of sin and death entering the world. But Adam went along with it. That's why Paul says death entered the world through one man, Adam.
What I'm trying to say is, they tried to deflect the blame for what they did. It didn't help.
The problem is sin in general, and with anger specifically, is with us. If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But, if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Not because we confessed our sins, per se, but because of the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
We can't control others, but we can work to control ourselves. We can work to live by the Spirit. We can try to stop acting like we did when we were led by our sinful nature. We can cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Paul says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:24-25).
And when we fall out of step with the Spirit and sin, we confess it. We repent of it. And we believe that we are forgiven because of Jesus. Jesus, working by the power of the Holy Spirit through His word makes us able to do this.
Before my confessional Lutheran brothers out there say it, I am not advocating works-righteousness. It isn't works-righteousness to try and act better. It is to remember baptism, to return to it, and to drown the Old Adam, who still clings to your flesh and wants you to act like an ass.
It is sanctification. Even the Lutheran Confessions say that the regenerate man can cooperate with the Spirit.
Something else important to keep in mind: Just because you feel sorry for what you did, acknowledge it, and maybe even apologize for it doesn't mean that other people will accept it. Your repentance may not fix the things that happened. In fact, it probably won't. You may have caused irreparable damage, and you may have to live with it. If a murderer murders someone and feels remorse for his crime, he may truly repent of his sin. If God works this repentance in him, his sin is forgiven and he will be raised to life with all the faithful on the Last Day. It won't bring back the victim, repair the broken lives, relieve the trauma, or get him out of being punished for his crime. There are real temporal and eternal consequences to sin.
And Jesus says that to be angry with our brother is to murder him.
He also told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you, "...that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. [God] causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:44-45).
That fact shouldn't discourage us, though. Jesus told us that in this world we would have suffering and trouble. We can be encouraged, though, because Jesus has overcome the world by His death and resurrection. ###
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