Be careful what you say about others, or Judge.

Is there anything more pleasant than discussing someone else's faults? Or assuming something about them and starting rumors? This shouldn't be so, especially for Christians, but it seems to be widely regarded as an acceptable form of entertainment. Is it any surprise that most TV sitcoms are built around people tearing each other down, either behind their backs or right to their face? It's terribly funny on TV -- not at all funny in real life, especially if you are the person being degraded.

The Bible has a lot to say about being judgmental. Jesus and the apostles understood clearly the human tendency to put down others. Among Christians, this even takes the form of questioning another's spiritual condition based on assumptions.

The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, what they assume they know, or by pure misunderstanding. but the LORD looks at a person's thoughts and intentions.

1 Samuel 16:7

"Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, `Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye, then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."

Matthew 7:1-5

We have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now! What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:16

Don't grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or God will judge you. For look! The great Judge is coming. He is standing at the door!

James 5:9

Don't speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God's law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it. God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor?

James 4:11-12

Whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free. For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you.

James 2:12-13

To Love

Love is the highest form of maturity. It often requires a sacrificial gift. If love doesn't require some sort of sacrifice on our part, we probably don't love the other person at all. If there is no sacrifice in our actions, we are most likely reacting to something nice they did for us, or simply pretending to be kind to gain some control over them. Love is almost always undeserved by the person who receives it.

Our decisions should always have our spouse's interests in mind. Even a mediocre marriage requires sacrifice. It is important to understand that true love gives of itself.

Sacrifice means you are not going to have your way all the time. This means both the husband and wife are called to love each other with unconditional love. There has to be sacrifice of selfish desires if a couple is going to enjoy a triumphant marriage.

Loving and being loved are what make our lives worth living. Many people experience times in their lives when they feel unloved. During these times it's easy to dwell on those negative thoughts, but allowing it to continue leads to unhappiness and depression.

Love is the energy of life. It is what motivates people to get up each day and keep going. Love gives life purpose and meaning. Everywhere you look you see people searching for love…but they're looking in the wrong places. God is love, and they will never find what they're looking for until they find Him.

People look for fulfillment in life in different ways. These ways may seem good at first, but eventually the unsuccessful search will leave them feeling frustrated, disappointed and empty. The only way they can find the true fulfillment they are so desperately seeking is to choose to walk in love—to actually put love into action by reaching out and loving others.

As soon as I made a commitment to God, I began to hear people talk about the importance of loving others. Since I wanted to live my life according to the Bible, I wanted to walk in love, but I just couldn't. I had the urge…but no power to follow through. I always made elaborate plans but couldn't carry them out.

I began to understand that I could not love others because I had never received God's love for me. I knew in my head that the Bible said God loved me, but I didn't feel His love in my heart. I wondered how God could love us as imperfect as we are.

God loves us because He wants to—it pleases Him. God loves us because it's His nature to love, and He will always love us. He doesn't always love everything we do, but He does love us. God's love is unconditional. In fact, there's nothing we can do to ever escape His love. God's love is the power that forgives our sins, heals our emotional wounds, and mends our broken hearts.

Over time I came to realize that I am deeply loved by God simply for who I am, not because of any work I could do for Him. I could finally quit trying to earn His love by doing things I thought would make me more worthy of His love. I have found myself doing this same thing in relationships; I try to earn love by doing for others, but find out every time there is nothing I can DO to get them to love me, they either do or they don't by their actions. It doesn't change the fact that I can still love them unconditionally.

Once I began receiving God's awesome, unconditional love, I was able to start loving Him in return and reach out to others more freely in love. Because God's never-ending love was in me, I could give it to others without fear of ever running out.

Everyone in the world wants to be loved and accepted. And the love of God—that wonderful gift He freely gives us—should satisfy that need. His love flows to us, and then it should flow through us to other people.

Now I see myself as a container full of blessings. I want to be the type of person who can pour out God's love into the lives of the people around me. I've found that I'm always happier when I choose to make others happy. Yet, I have found that Some cannot be made happy, they lack the ability to accept love yet, or return it. So I just pray for them and keep loving them.

In the Bible, God calls Christians the salt of the earth (see Matthew 5:13). He expects us to "season" the lives of those around us. All of life is tasteless without love. Love is the salt, the energy of life, and the reason to get up every morning.

Every day can be exciting if we see ourselves as God's secret agents, waiting to sprinkle a little salt on all the lives we encounter. And we know that because we are deeply loved by God, we can never run out of love—no matter how much we give away.

To Honor

“Sprinkled throughout Scripture is a concept we feel is at the heart of all truly loving relationships. In fact the biblical concept of honor is one of the most powerful tools a husband or wife can use to carve out a lasting and intimate marriage. In Scripture, wives are told to give honor to their husbands (Ephesians 5:33) and husbands, to give honor to their wives (1 Peter 3:7). What do we mean by honor?”

“What do we mean by honor? Perhaps the best way to illustrate what the word means is to look at its opposite.

“In the Old Testament, the word dishonor literally means ‘to give something little means to give something little or no weight or value.’ Dishonoring people, then, means treating them as if who they are or what they have to share, or their feelings has little value. Dishonoring actions in a marriage may start with a critical word, an angry glance, statement or an action that devalues a person’s feelings or opinions. This may not provoke a major problem at first. Dishonor may settle like a mist over the relationship, so light that neither partner notices the change in climate. But if left unchecked, one day that mist of devaluing words and actions may build up and turn into a blanket or fog. It may then create physical, emotional, and spiritual problems and even jeopardize the marriage.

How can we avoid dishonoring our loved ones and begin to honor them instead? We can get a handle on honoring our spouses by looking at an important aspect of the word honor.

Throughout Scripture, giving people honor involves recognizing that they have great worth and then treating them like a valuable treasure. The word itself denotes placing a great price, weight, or significance on something. How does my treating my spouse like a valuable treasure draw us together?

‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ (Matthew 6:21). In other words, what we treasure is what we have feelings for. The more we treasure God, the greater our desire to spend time in His Word and in prayer. The more we treasure our spouses and treat them like valuable gifts from God, the greater our positive feelings toward them will be.

“We can picture it this way. If you had a priceless vase that had been in the family for years, you would go to great lengths to protect and care for it. You’d put it in a prominent place in your home and set up indirect lighting to highlight its beauty. You wouldn’t think of picking up a priceless vase and shaking it or throwing it around like a Frisbee. Instead, you would treat it with tenderness and gentleness because it was so valuable to you.

“Now stop and ask yourself a few important questions. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is of little value and 10 equals highest value, how highly do you value your spouse? Do you treat him or her like a special treasure God has entrusted to you? Other than your relationship with the Lord, are there things in your life or home that you consider more valuable than your spouse —your job, your friends, outings or even TV or Games? If your spouse were asked to stand up in front of your closest friends and family and share how highly he or she felt valued by you, what rating would he or she mention? Really ask yourself this question.

“In any relationship, there will be times when we are tempted to lower our spouse’s value below where it should be. However, when we make a decision to grant honor to our spouses —to recognize them as people of great value and then treat them like priceless treasures—we go a long way toward strengthening our marriages so that they can survive such times. Do you need practical examples of what it means to honor your spouse? Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

“Be interested in her feelings, Ask his opinion frequently. Be gentle and tender in your tone of voice and touch. Avoid sudden changes without discussion or giving the other person time to adjust. Follow through on promises, NEVER say you will do something and not do it. NEVER say you don't have to worry honey I won't do that when you WILL. Set and keep specific family goals for each year. Go on a romantic outing. Surprise her with a card or flowers. Defend him to others.(stand by your man). Keep your spiritual life in shape. Don’t ever say things in anger, ‘You’re just like your mother!’ "I can't wait to leave, I don't have time for this"!

“You can waste hours on a hundred different things, but you’ll never waste one minute putting honor into practice in your most important relationships. Do yourself and your spouse a favor. Give him or her a gift that can continue to bless both of you for a lifetime —the gift of honor.”

---

Keep in mind that when we hurt each other, we’re hurting the testimony of Christ. When we dishonor one another we dishonor the testimony of Christ. When we act unloving and “un-Christ-like” to each other we’re hurting the living picture of Christ that God wants to display through us. After all, how will the world view the transforming love of Christ if we aren’t showing the love and grace of Christ toward one another in our marriages? Even if your spouse doesn’t treat you in the same way, realize that whenever you give honor to your spouse you are giving it “as unto the Lord.”

Recipe for happiness in marriage.

No doubt many experts and marriage counselors will differ in opinion on what makes a good marriage, What is the true recipe for happiness in marriage. Doubtful of all the ingredients out there, that just one makes or breaks the deal, but true friendship must be one of them. It must be the main ingredient. If there is true friendship between husband and wife, the marriage avoids landing on the rocks. Instead, it becomes a rock-hard marriage where no individual or circumstance can put it asunder.

In fact, it is the genuine friendship between two people that put more meaning in the words, “for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, till death do us part” – “the shelter of each other.” So to speak.

Here are a few reasons why friendship is so important in a marriage.

Friendship means fun.

Friendship in a marriage means that the marriage will be full with memories of laughter and humour, for didn’t we choose those friends who made us laugh the most? Didn’t our mothers always tell us, “When choosing a husband, count the times he made you laugh.”

Friendship makes communication easier.

Friendship also means open and honest communication; a no holds barred type of union where our comfort level with our spouse goes beyond 100%, assured that what we say and how we say it will not be judged or taken in a negative light, and we will never be condemned by them when we share our feelings.

If you talk to married people, a wish they frequently express is that they remain the best of friends and the closest of companions. Surveys in fact reveal that if there is one component that will enable a couple to weather the tough times, it is friendship.

Friendship means never being lonely.

As a famous poet once said, “No man is an island.” Most people would agree that friendship is the antidote to loneliness. Getting married does not mean that people will never experience loneliness, but it does lessen our sense of separateness. In fact to feel lonely in marriage is a true warning sign that something is wrong.

Friendship between couples generates wholesome feelings of goodwill and fidelity. Our spouse – our friend – has our interests at heart, will not betray us and will be our staunchest supporter. When couples think of each other and not just themselves and make a continuing effort to make the marriage work, they’ve made the best investment they could ever make.

Friendship also makes spouses stronger; this strength is reinforced by the joy of shared history, of nostalgia and plans for the future.

Can romance can get in the way of friendship?

Romance is a good thing, and we could use heaps of it when our relationships get rocky. But mature friends are aware that romance can be a barrier to friendship. Why? Because romance obscures the darker side of our existence – our fears, anxieties, and insecurities. Yet, it is those fears, anxieties and insecurities that naturally draw us to our friend.

Doesn’t familiarity breed contempt?

Familiarity does NOT breed contempt. It breeds content. A sense of contentment equates with satisfaction, warmth, and unwavering assurance. Sharing a life together in love and friendship makes for a book that is deeper and thicker in shared histories, in content.

Friendship makes life infinitely more richer.

If you were to ask a happy bachelor and a happily married man to each write their stories, you’d get a positive narration from both. The single person’s perspective would however be I, me and myself – and possibly a string of blind dates and Saturday nights alone. The married man will talk about “us”, of mutual interests – a story definitely made richer because there are two stories, not one, or at least we would hope that we would see this growth in a married man.

Friendship is the contract that binds.

People who have remained happily married are those who understand that there are actually two marriage contracts, not just one. With true friendship in their marriage they know that they can count on each other when times are bad, and that alone generates a considerable degree of peace of mind and a sense of calm for the soul.

Since love is less permanent (we may fall in and out of love a few times in our lifetime) and friendship more durable, every attempt must be made to make our spouse not only a lover and a partner, but also a friend; that sort of bond will create a love that one will never all out of.

There used to be so many ideas floating around in my head for how I thought God wanted to use me. I was certain of a few things: I could sing very well, I could write fairly well, I didn't have a problem speaking in front of people and I was far from shy. I thought of these things as talents...thought that I was lucky to be able to do these things. Little did I know, I had it all wrong. It wasn't until much later in my life even more recently that I learned that these things I could do were blessed gifts from my Father, spiritual gifts, if you will. I began to put two and two together and realized that if I combined these gifts, I could use them the way God intended me to- to draw others nearer to Him. So, I write blogs and inspiring things that the Holy Spirit leads me to write. I began to talk to strangers, people I work with, family who ever would listen to what I might say about my Lord. I really hadn't realized it, but I have been building a ministry to reach out to those who were broken and hurting, those who never knew about Jesus, to let them know that they are loved and that Jesus is their Savior. I guess just in the last few months in my seeking God's understanding on things, and prayer, I was shown these things. I knew that I have had a calling to ministry as well as my husband. He is formally schooled in ministry. However, I rely on my Bible and the Holy Spirit alone as I have not had the opportunity to actually attend ministry school. But the Lord has shown me that I have already let him use me and start a ministry of my very own. I didn't really even realize it, it was just something that I have done as the Spirit has led me to do. I have found more people seeking me out to find out after hearing me talk, asking more about Jesus and asking questions on how they too can be saved. I have found that people I have spoken to and prayed with have found their way to salvation.

Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the multitudes. God takes us, breaks us and gives us to the multitudes. I was broken before I started living my life the way God intended me to live it. I was broken more than one time- because sometimes, that's what it takes for God to get the point across. I had no idea when I felt I was at my lowest point, that God was in control the entire time, that He was stepping in and trying to give me a clean heart and a righteous spirit. I believe that our pain will be for the gain of His kingdom. That has certainly been the case in my experiences. I could not understand WHY? all the attacks from the enemy, WHY? back to back to back one thing after another. I finally fell on my face completely broken and asked God. I said " I am living for you, I am working towards the goal of ministry, I am doing my best, what happens when I finally get into the ministry, my husband as well? What then?" Will the enemy REALLY attack us then? This is just so much Lord. The answer came with a deafening BOOM! Who told you that you were NOT ALREADY doing my work? That you are NOT ALREADY in ministry? The day you made the commitment was the day I gave you a ministry. His words stood my heart still as it leaped inside my chest. I had been looking at my husband going to school for ministry all this time and waiting for the day that all the sudden it would just start. I had not realized that God was already using ME, that I have had to be broken and stay faithful all at the same time, That I was getting all these crazy attacks from the enemy trying to stall me out. Trying to deter me from work in progress, from my very own God given ministry. That HE made me a fisher of man. He is the one who chose me. I did not need to wait, there was not one day I would just wake up and be in the ministry. I was already ministering. Attacked over and over by the enemy.. Yet I have still stayed faithful to the Lord and pressed on. It made perfect sense now. You see I pray. I pray all day long, I pray at work, play, cooking, cleaning, driving what ever. I talk to God all day long. Very few see this, it's just my own thing. I know what God has in store usually before it happens as he shows me so many things. But lately, I have been doing his work without actually knowing it, and all the time not understanding WHY all the attacks on me in general. Almost blinded by it all, Until he showed me. That it had became a way of life, natural, and easy. Even with all the attacks. I found reward just in sharing my love for Christ even through all storms. That no matter what I had lost, or the trials I have been going through, I was just happy to be his, to share his word and do my part to save another lost soul.

Meekness is strength under control. This means that we can do something about our present situation, sure- but we're not going to do anything until God delivers us. Until HIS time. Until he opens our eyes. The more desperate and willing we are to be foolsfor Christ, especially under fire from the enemy, the more Jesus loves it! How much for faithful will he be to us by our faithfulness to him. The peace I have found just since realizing all of this is amazing. What are you willing to do for Him? For His kingdom? Are you winning souls even under scrutiny and attacks from the enemy?

Brokenness means to crush and destroy, but it also means New Birth! The enemy may seem to crush and destroy us (or at least that is how it feels and seems at times) but through Christ we rise up NEW and reborn after the storms the enemy throws at us. There's a simple prayer for us all to pray- "Take me, break me and make me what You want me to be!" If you want to let God use you, stop telling Him where and when it's going to be! (After I get a degree, after I graduate school, when I start a prayer meeting, after this or that) So many of us dream of being on the platform, but 99% of ministry cannot take place on the platform! It's going out into a dying world, hungry and thirsty for the Word of God! It's helping a friend or neighbor. It's time to stand up and say, "Here I am, Lord! Use me!" Let him use you in your everyday... before your degree, your graduation, your prayer meeting, all the this and that's. Let him use you on "the way" to your life destination.

God is working in you this very moment. He who began a good work is able to complete it! That is a promise we can count on! God changes us every day...from glory into glory, into glory! Hallelujah! We are the apple of God's eye. He has picked us out to pick us, pick and redeem us! Let's give God everything we are and everything we are not. We're everything with Him, but nothing without Him. We're His chosen instruments. Before any of us were formed in our mothers' wombs, He knew us and accepted us. Friends, God knows you and He knows me. He knows our names and has a plan for each of us. I encourage you to pray about what you've read here today. God is ready to use you, but you have to let him. There may be roads marked with suffering, and pain in the offering, but remember- that pain will be for the gain of His kingdom. So maybe it won't be today or tomorrow or six months from now, but when you've prayed and you're ready, let your Father take you, break you and make you what he wants you to be, because each one of us is needed to help build the kingdom.

Christmas: Make Room For Jesus

Luke 2:6-7, While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Have you ever felt rejected and unwanted?

Have you ever felt like you don't belong, you just don't fit in? It's one of the most painful experiences in life, when no one has time or space for you. Many people have committed suicide, because they felt no longer wanted or useful; they felt they have become a burden to everyone else. Feeling unwanted or not needed will cause a person to withdraw and go into isolation. Perhaps no human being felt that deep, sharp edge of personal rejection more than Jesus Christ, from the time He was born till the very day He died. For the most part, Jesus was an unwanted man. Imagine that: in a world where the most notorious criminals are Most Wanted, the best human being to ever live on earth the world's Most "Unwanted". During Christmas, why don't we declare Jesus Christ Most Wanted? Why don't we make room for Him? That must be the best thing we can do for Christmas: make room for Jesus.

Four Reasons Why You Should Make Room For Jesus

1. He has made room for you.
First, when He made the world, He made room for us, just like He made for Adam. John 1:3, Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. Genesis 2:8, Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. He made plenty of room for everyone, for all the families, peoples, languages, and nations of the world.

Second, He made room for us in His life and ministry. He extends to us an open and standing invitation...Matthew 11:28, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Third, On the cross, Jesus made room for us. That space is called Paradise. What He said to the thief on the cross, He says to anyone who turns to Him for forgiveness... Luke 23:43, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

2. He has made room for Himself in your spirit.
When He made you, He made room for Himself. When you let Him become your Savior, He will occupy that room He already made for Himself. It's that God-shaped void in you that was designed and intended for Jesus Christ alone to fill up. 1 Corinthians 3:16, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 6:19, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

3. He wants you to welcome Him into His room. John 14:23, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

4. Jesus is still making room for you to live forever with Him in Heaven. John 14:2-3, 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Ten Easy Ways to Make Room For Jesus at Christmas

1. Remind yourself in prayer that Christmas is all about Jesus, not about you. Guide your shopping by the consciousness that Christmas is all about Jesus.
2. Let your family know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, not their birthday. Even if their birthday falls on December 25th, it is still Jesus' birth that we celebrate on Christmas Day.
3. Enmesh yourself in Christmas music. Sing and/or play Christmas songs about the birth of Jesus.
4. Say “Merry Christmas”, “Blessed Christmas” or “Happy Christmas”, rather than “Happy Holidays”. When you see or hear “Happy Holidays”, call someone on it in a gentle and friendly but firm way. Say something like, “If it were Valentine's Day, would you say 'Happy Holiday'? So why don't you want to say 'Christmas'? Is that because it has 'Christ' in it?” Wear a big smile throughout this conversation. If it's not reasonable to have a conversation, you can just respond with “Merry Christmas” every time you hear “Happy Holidays”. And when you see a “Happy Holidays” sign at a store where you shop, for Jesus' sake stop by the customer service desk and say, “You know some of your loyal customers would appreciate it if your store said 'Merry Christmas' on the sign rather than 'Happy Holidays'”. You may even give a short note to the manager. No need to issue a threat or ultimatum that you'll never shop there again; just submit your simple request and move on, let the Lord handle it .
5. In the days leading up to Christmas Day, read the Christmas story as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. That's Matthew chapters 1 & 2 and Luke chapters 1 & 2.
6. Attend at least one Christmas event – an advent journey, Christmas concert, Christmas cantata, Christmas Eve service.
7. Make it a point to give every Christmas card and present you in the name of Jesus Christ. Use Christmas cards that are Christ-centered, not holiday cards. Write Jesus or Christ on it somewhere someway if you want to write a personal note in addition to the greeting card's message. You might write, “This card comes from me to you in the name of Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.” Or you may simply say, “Let's keep Christ in Christmas.”
8. On Christmas morning, celebrate Jesus before opening Christmas presents or doing any other Christmas thing. (a) Sing a Christmas carol; or play a Christmas carol and sing along. (b) Read one account of the Christmas story from a simple translation; or retell the story. (c) Pray – thank God for sending Jesus Christ as His best Christmas Present for you and your family. Rededicate your home and family to Jesus Christ. Pray for family and friends who need to make room for Jesus, who need to receive God's Christmas present so Jesus can save them from sin and make them God's true children.
9. Be content with whatever card or present you receive, and thank Jesus Christ for each one. If you receive no Christmas presents, thank the Lord anyway, because you have already received Jesus the best and greatest Christmas present of all.
10.Receive Jesus Christ as your Christmas Present from God, so you can become a true child of God. Jesus is waiting on you to invite Him into your life, so He can occupy the room He carved in your heart for Him. A wonderful spiritual experience awaits you... a) Your greatest Christmas miracle is found in receiving Jesus into the room of your heart... John 1:12-13, 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. That is the most important way to make room for Jesus this Christmas. If you don't remember praying the sinner's prayer to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, just
pray, “Lord Jesus, there is room in my life for You. I receive You into my heart as my Christmas
present from Heaven. Forgive me of all my sins and accept me as one of God's children.”
To receive Jesus as God's Christmas gift, pray these words: Heavenly Father, I realize You sent Your Son Jesus Christ as Your best gift to me. Today, I receive Jesus Christ to save me from my sin. Forgive me and accept me as Your child. Thank You for hearing me. From now on I will live for You as You give me the power.

ANGER IN THE FACE OF PERSONAL ATTACKS

Getting angry is very easy nowadays. Hardly a week goes by that we don't get upset over at least three or four things.

Millions of honest, hardworking people are outraged because their savings or pension has been slashed due to the greedy dealings of big corporations. Others are mad because they've been laid off from their job. Still others have lost their house, Family conflicts abound, injustices to each other inside the family surpass reason, Many are trapped in painful, expensive illness. Those all seem like good reasons to be irate.

We Christians find ourselves asking: "Is getting angry a sin?"

If we look through the Bible, we find many references to anger. We know that Moses, the prophets, and even Jesus got angry at times.

Is all the rage we're feeling today justified?

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. (Proverbs 29:11, NIV)

Getting angry is a temptation . What we do after that can lead to sin. If God doesn't want us to vent our anger, we need to see what's worth getting mad about in the first place, and second, what God wants us to do with those feelings.

Worth Getting Angry About?

Much of what gets us worked up could be classified as irritants, those time-wasting, ego-bruising nuisances that threaten to make us lose control. But stress is cumulative. Pile up enough of those insults, and we're ready to explode. If we're not careful, we can say or do something we'll be sorry for later.

God counsels patience toward these aggravations. They will never stop, so we need to learn how to handle them:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7, NIV)

Echoing this Psalm is a Proverb:

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. (Proverbs 20:22, NIV)

There is a hint that something bigger is going on. These annoyances are frustrating, yes, but God is in control. If we truly believe that, we can wait for him to work. We don't need to jump in, thinking God's off napping somewhere.

Distinguishing between petty trifles and serious injustice can be difficult, especially when we're biased because we are the victim. We can blow things out of proportion.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12, NIV)

Patience is not our natural reaction, though. How about revenge? Or holding a grudge? Or shock when God doesn't immediately zap the other person with a lightning bolt?

Growing a thicker skin so these insults bounce off is not easy. We hear so much today about our "rights" that we see every slight, intended or not, as a personal attack against us. Much of what gets us angry is just thoughtlessness. People are rushed, self-centered, worried about their own little world.

Even when someone is deliberately rude, we need to resist the urge to lash out in kind. In his Sermon on the mount, Jesus tells his followers to abandon that "eye for an eye" attitude. If we want nastiness to stop, we need to set the example (even as hard as it it sometimes).

Foolish Consequences

We can seek to live our lives under the control of the Holy Spirit or we can let the sinful nature of our flesh have its way. It's a choice we make every day. We can either turn to the Lord for patience and strength or we can allow potentially destructive emotions like anger to run unchecked. If we choose the latter, God's Word cautions us over and over of the consequences.

Proverbs 14:17 says, "A quick-tempered man does foolish things." Proverbs 16:32 follows with this encouragement: "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city." Summing these up is James 1:19-20: "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (NIV)

Righteous Anger

When Jesus got angry—at the moneychangers in the temple or the self-serving Pharisees—it was because they were exploiting religion instead of using it to bring people closer to God. Jesus taught the truth but they refused to listen.

We can also get angry at injustice, such as killing the unborn, human trafficking, selling illegal drugs, molesting children, maltreating workers, polluting our environment ... the list goes on and on.

Rather than stewing about the problems, we can band together with others and take action to fight, by peaceful, lawful means. We can volunteer and donate to organizations that oppose abuse. We can write our elected officials. We can form a neighborhood watch. We can educate others, and we can Pray.

Evil is a strong force in our world, but we cannot stand by and do nothing. God wants us to use our anger constructively, to combat wrongdoing.

Don't Be a Doormat

How are we to respond to personal attacks, to the betrayals, thievery, and injuries that hurt us so deeply?

"But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39, NIV)

Jesus may have been speaking in hyperbole, but he also told his followers to be as "shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16, NIV). We are to protect ourselves without stooping to the level of our attackers. An angry outburst accomplishes little, besides satisfying our emotions. It also gratifies those who believe all Christians are hypocrites.

Jesus told us to expect persecution. The nature of today's world is that someone is always trying to take advantage of us. If we are shrewd yet innocent, we will not be as shocked when it happens and will be better prepared to deal with it calmly, although more hurtful and shocking would be the attack, deceitful action, or theft from someone we know well and love such as family.

Getting angry is a natural human emotion that need not lead us into sin—if we remember that God is a God of justice and we use our anger in a way that honors him.