Anger Management

Have you ever been sitting in church listening to the message and thinking, "Yeah, that's nice and everything, and I'm sure it will come in handy some day, but right now it just doesn't apply to me"? Then, a few days later something comes up and that message you heard just smacks you in the head!
It's been one of those days.
The service yesterday was on anger... Fun, right? I know I have a problem with anger because when someone does something that I get mad about, it can be a long time before I get over it. Well, the pastor was talking about how anger is kind of like food left in a fridge: If it doesn't get cleaned out before it expires, then it just spoils and rots and gets nastier and nastier. It's just like if you hold on to something that made you angry, like if someone hurt your feelings or let you down, the more you think about it, the more it starts to spoil inside of you. You get all bitter and resentful, and maybe you even forget why you were mad to begin with, but you're still mad. It's eats you alive, like cancer.
So, at the end of the service the pastor encouraged us to think about someone we need to forgive and to pray for God to help us to let go of our anger. I couldn't think of anybody.
Then, today happened. Now that I think about it, if I type it all out it's going to make me angry ALL OVER AGAIN, which is kind of counterproductive to my blog entry...
The Bible says: In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. (Ephesians 4:26)

It makes so much more sense than just being angry all of the time. It gives me one less thing to worry about- one less thing to eat me alive. It's really hard, but I revoke my "privelidge" to be angry at this person. (By the way, it isn't ANYBODY who ever reads this blog.) Not because I'm such a wonderful, forgiving person, but because many of my own "screw ups" are fresh in my mind right now, and I can not live without forgiveness myself. The hardest part for me is going to be not to complain about this person anymore. I'm probably going to screw that up too, but that's ok, because sometimes you have to decide to forgive someone over and over for the same thing, and sometimes you have to ask God to forgive you for not being forgiving.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:29-32