| Ecclesiastes 7:9 – “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” |
If you listen, even just a little, you will hear a voice—the voice of anger.
Rage is all the rage.
Indignation over politics flows unabated through social media channels.
Drivers honk in irritation.
Families grow distant as petty arguments become full-fledged feuds.
As Twain observed, Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Is there an answer to anger? The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius found one.
He lay sick toward the end of his reign. It was apparent to all that he was dying.
But news reached him that his most trusted general Avidius Cassius rebelled in Syria and declared himself emperor. He aimed to use violence to seize the throne.
For most emperors, this would give rise to the desire to crush his enemy and avenge the wrong.
Marcus did nothing, even keeping the plot from his troops who would have not been so patient.
So he called a council of his soldiers and made an announcement.
They would march against Cassius and obtain the “great prize of war and of victory.” But Marcus meant a prize so different that it is hard to understand. They would capture Cassius and endeavor not to kill him, but “. . . forgive a man who has wronged one, to remain a friend to one who has transgressed friendship, to continue faithful to one who has broken faith.”
When the fires of anger and hurt get stoked in our hearts, the fire that burns usually turns into an explosion. When irritated, we want to get even.
Jesus was tired. He had healed many, taught multitudes. And now, he was making a grim journey to Jerusalem, the last of his life. He needed a little compassion.
As they went on their way, they entered Samaritan territory. Jesus loved them as much as his own people. He sent his disciples ahead to make preparations. He needed a place to rest, a place to wash his feet, a place to eat. He needed a moment of peace before the whirlwind.
But the Samaritans, learning he was going to Jerusalem shut their doors to him. They refused his small needs.
It irritated the two brothers, whose tempers had earned them the nickname “Sons of Thunder”. They knew what to do.
When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54)
But Jesus rebuked them. He just let it go and kept going.
Most of what makes us angry is not worth the troubles. Instead, do as Marcus did. Forgive it. Let it go. After all, others who have offended us need more love from us rather than more wrath. Today, find the things that are bothering you and let them go.
–Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
