Love is not easily provoked
God asked Cain, “Why are you angry and why has
your countenance fallen?” (Gen 4:6).
In this world there is no one who
will not get angry if provoked. This is a fact which no one can deny. Cain, the
first born of Adam became angry with his brother. When God asked him, “Why are
you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?”, he did not repent. Instead he
became more angry and killed his brother, Abel, out of his great wrath.
Temper is
inborn. Though we try very hard not to lose it, there will be times when we
will flare up even on account of a trifle matter. Temper can be likened to that
of gun powder buried in man. Some have more while others have less.
We lose
our temper because we feel that an injustice has been done to us. We are
provoked to retaliate. Sometimes we encounter some unscrupulous people or
unhappy incidents which irritate us.
When we
are in such a situation we need to pray to God to keep our temper under
control. Allowing our temper to flare-up will not solve any problem.
The Bible
says, “Be angry but do not sin” (Eph ).
We may ask: Is there such a thing as sinless anger? We can separate “anger”
from “sin”. Anger is an expression of hatred against injustice. If there is a
good reason to be angry and our anger is under control, we do not sin. However,
when we are angry we will often say that this is the last straw. We will not
tolerate it any more. What follow are quarrel, abuse, fighting, killing,
heartache, loss of friendship. Therefore, we must exercise tolerance particularly
in the moment of anger. We must emulate our Lord Jesus who, “when he was
reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten;
but he trusted to him who judges justly” (1 Pet ).
“Do not
let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph ).
“He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper
exalts folly” (Prov 14:29). The wise can foresee the consequences brought about
by wrath and so he brings his temper under control. But if a person were to
hold his temper for a long time, this will bring harm to him. The Bible teaches
not to let the sun go down on your anger, for harbouring anger is unhealthy
because when one is angry his stomach will produce excessive gastric juices
leading to ulcers. The Bible mentions of malice (1 Cor 5:3; Eph 4:31; 1 Pet
2:1). Malice is anger which has been brewing for a long time. It is a cancer of
the mind and difficult to heal. Therefore, the Bible teaches us not to prolong
our anger till sunset. Why bring our temper to our bed which will disturb our
sleep?
Emulate the gentleness and lowliness of the Lord
(Mt ).
The Lord
said, “I am gentle and lowly in my heart.” This should be the state of mind of
a spiritual Christian. Vanity and pride often creep into the minds of men of
wealth and position. Very often temper comes from a person’s pride and vanity.
One will not allow other’s success to overshadow his own. He will not tolerate
humiliation. King Saul was a classic example. He became very angry and he said,
“They have ascribed to David ten thousands and to me they have ascribed
thousands; and what more can he have but the kingdom?” Saul eyed David with
anger from that day on.
Since we have been made anew in the Lord, we
must control our bad temper by the renewal of the Holy Spirit and become
partakers of the divine nature of God (2 Pet 1:4).
One who is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be liable of judgment.
There are
people who get angry with others without a cause. For example, A is angry with
B and because B is very close to C, automatically A dislikes C as well. The
Bible teaches that all those who get angry with others without cause shall be
liable for judgment. May God have mercy on us to deliver us from our
unintentional guilt.
If there
is the kind of love which bears all things, the kind of love which is not
resentful, the kind of love which is patient and kind, the kind of love which
is not jealous or boastful, the kind of love which is not arrogant or rude, the
kind of love which does not insist on its own way, then our hearts will be filled
with the Holy Spirit.
We must crucify our old
nature on the cross or else our temper can never be up-rooted.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love
casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not
perfected in love. We love, because he first love us” (1 Jn 1:8, 19)
