Part Two: How to Assess Our Upsets
In my last blog, I covered overcoming wrath as a doer of God’s Word. But what of the times when we are upset or angry with good reason? Certainly there must be times when anger is the proper emotion. After all, did not Jesus become angry on several occasions? If anyone could become angry without sinning it was certainly the sinless Son of God. What can we learn, then from his example? This week’s blog will address how to assess our upsets from the following three questions.
1. Does my upset respond against actual sin (as biblically defined)? (Mark 3:1-6)
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
In this first example, Jesus became angry because the Pharisees’ hearts were hardened, they were seeking an occasion to accuse him, and they lacked mercy and compassion for the suffering man. Each of these is sin as defined in scripture. Quite often, we get upset because of things that are not clearly sinful. When someone disappoints you—is it really sin, or foolishness, or an accident? Perhaps someone merely thinks that you are wrong, or has an equally good way of doing things. At times like these we may take the following actions:
· Ask, “What happened?”
· Ask, “Do I have the facts straight?”
· Ask, “What is it that just upset me?”
· Ask, “Is this sin as the Bible defines it?”
If we cannot say that we are angry with sin as the Bible defines it, we may need to rethink the problem and our response.
2. Does my upset focus on God and His kingdom (not me or my kingdom)? (Mark 10:13-16)
And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
The disciples were concerned that the children were becoming a nuisance; getting in the way of an already busy ministry. But Jesus was concerned with the advancement of God’s plan. What was he angry with? He was upset that the disciples were keeping the children away from him. He viewed the “disturbance” as an opportunity for ministry. Perhaps the disturbances in our lives are just that. Perhaps the upset is an opportunity. An opportunity to minister, or maybe an opportunity to teach. Or maybe an opportunity that God has taken to show us something about ourselves. In such cases as these we must:
· Ask, “What is it that I want in this situation? Do I feel that I am being deprived of something—respect, attention, a possession, or an ideal situation?”
· Ask, “Am I more concerned with my kingdom or God’s kingdom?”
The upsets that we have may very well be opportunities rather than inconveniences. If we are focused only upon how things affect us, we will often miss opportunities to glorify God and work for His purpose.
3. Does my upset coexist with godly qualities and express itself in godly ways? 1 Peter 2:21-25
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
From the standpoint of mankind the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the greatest outpouring of human hatred and injustice in all of history. And yet, from the standpoint of God, it was the greatest outpouring of love and godliness in the face of such turmoil. How did Jesus respond in turmoil? First, Jesus focused his attention on the Father. He did not return reviling for reviling, nor threatening for suffering. Instead, Jesus committed himself to the Father and trusted the Father to judge the matter righteously. In doing so, Jesus sought God’s will for his abusers by fulfilling God’s will on the cross. When we are facing an upset we must first evaluate our thinking in light of God’s Word:
· “Am I thinking godly thoughts?”
· “Am I thinking in hurt, or personal offence?”
· “Am I looking at this through God’s lens?”
And then we must:
· Ask if your course of action (what I wanted to do, or did)—planned or completed—was in line with godly qualities.
· Ask what you wanted, more than you wanted to honor God!
· Confess your sin of idolatry to God, and then give thanks for what you do have.
· If you have sinned in your speech, or actions against someone, tell them that you are sorry and ask for forgiveness.
When we assess our upsets in light of the example of Jesus Christ, we learn if our upsets are truly godly and righteous, or if we are making idols of things that we do not have or want to keep. By following Christ’s example we may more readily handle the things that upset us in a way that honors God.
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