While catching up on some E-mails, I came across a devotional from the United Methodist Church and thought I would share that this morning. The Scripture passage is James 1:19-27, and I encourage you to read it first.
Part of the reason why I wanted to share this, is because a good friend of mine from seminary shared some Scripture concerning anger and allowing God to work the circumstances of our lives. Being that this passage starts out talking about this, I thought it was appropriate.
Verse 19b-20a says: "But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God." Let's think about that. It does not say: "Never be angry..." Anger is not necessarily a bad emotion, but a lot of times, the anger we feel about a situation is in response to realizing that something isn't right, or that some has done an injustice to us. Anger, like fear, are an 'emotional warning system,' of sorts' to let us know that something isn't right. So, in that sense, anger and fear are not bad. It's how we respond to situations, either because of fear or anger, that indicates what we value.
The way most people respond to fear and anger is to immediately attack the cause of it. If one is feeling fear and/or anger because one is being attacked, then responding to that threat to protect one's self or someone else is probably the right thing to do. Each of us has to make that judgement call if and when the time comes. However, that is not always the reason why we will respond to something in an angry way.
An excellent example is road rage. How often have you been cut off by someone on purpose? I have several times. I remember one time while driving to Omaha about a year ago, two different people behind me had ample time to pass me when it was safe and legal to do so (i.e., we were not in a no passing zone). However, these two people decided to shoot around us while in a no passing zone, and when there was oncoming traffic. In fact, one of the two returned to the north bound lane (it was a two lane highway) with an on coming care less than 100 yards in front of him/her. And this person passed me right after the no passing zone started, and forced me to have to slow down so that he/she could get back into the lane safely. Pretty rude and dangerous, huh? Both times, I commented to my wife that it was times like this that I wished I was a law enforcement officer in an unmarked car. That way, especially if I had the opportunity to turn on the internal camera system, I would be able to document their reckless driving, pull them over, and either cite them or arrest them for reckless driving/reckless endangerment. It would depend on how the laws of that area read. Instead of trying to respond to them like they had treated me, I acknowledged my anger and let it go. I also prayed that God would take care of the situation, protecting others and either helping that person to make better choices or to enable the right people to see what they were doing and correct the situation.
Life will never work out the way we want it to. Because of sin, things will go wrong. As a military policeman with the Nebraska National Guard and while I was with the Nebraska Department of Corrections, I experienced numerous times where other people's actions angered me. In some situations, I actually had to respond using force to protect myself or someone else. Most of the time, though, the person was simply trying to 'push my buttons' to make me angry enough that I would react to him/her and do something stupid. Very hard to resist, and even harder, sometimes, to discern the difference between situations that require us to respond to a dangerous situation and when people are trying to antagonize use to do something wrong. I believe that this is part of what James is saying.
According to James, worthless religion is having an unbridled tongue (verbally lashing out at others) or responding to situations in a way that does not honor God. However, when we strive to serve God by take care of widows and orphans (those who are historically taken advantage of, and symbolize all of those who are not able to defend themselves). Sometimes, that means helping them find work, providing for their physical and/or emotional needs, etc. Sometimes, it means taking those to are trying to abuse or take advantage of them to court or to law enforcement officers. Other times, we may actually have to step in to protect them. It takes discernment to know what to do and how to do it. That's where we need to be correctly connected to God through prayer and reading His Word.
In studying God's Word and conversing with Him in prayer, we gain a better understanding of how God views our actions, our intentions, and how God expects us to respond to things. And, since God is outside of time and knows everyone's minds, God can clearly direct us with how to respond to situations. Because we can't see all things, there are a lot of unknowns in life. But, when we purposely seek to know and follow God, He will give us His Holy Spirit to guide us. We will not always understand what God is doing in our lives, but that is why it's called 'walking in faith.'
But, it's not enough to simply read God's Word and pray. Simply doing so without allow God to change you is an empty religion. It's all 'head knowedge' without any change in your life. It's like having an instruction manual and never opening it, or protective gear and not putting it on. It's worthless if not actually used. This is where 'hearer and doer' comes in. When we read God's Word and seek God's help in applying it to our lives, and allow Him to change us, it's like using the owner's manual to correctly use a protect. Or, it's like using the correct protective gear during work or sports. Or, more simply, it's like using a tire iron and a jack to change a car tire instead of trying to wrestle it off while all four tires are still on the ground.
Empty religion is the kind that does not change a person's life. It is simply 'head knowledge' that does not affect how one actually things and acts. If that is what we have, we are more of a weed in God's garden, not be effective and not producing a crop for Him. But, in actually being obedient to God, allowing His Word and the Holy Spirit to change us, then we become effective and fruitful for God's service. I believe that is, in a nutshell, what James is talking about. Being changed by God so that we are fruitful for Him and obedient to Him, not merely doing what we feel like.
Is it easy? Definitely not! But, in the long term, is it worth it? I believe so. In fact, I believe that in being obedient to God, we are fulfilling God's calling and purpose in our lives and honor Him. Although setting aside our desires and will and embracing what God has for us is extremely difficult, the eternal rewards are worth it.
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