A few weeks ago, I found out that someone I’ve known for over five years has lied to me about not partaking in illegal substances. I admit that my first reaction and frankly subsequent reactions were not lead by the Spirit. I was leaning on the “flesh” and indulged in emotions that you would imagine are aroused through such a revelation of truth. Anger, resentment, sadness, disgust, frustration, regret… all of these and more were at the banquet of my “wrath.”
In both 2 Corinthians 12:20 and Galatians 5:20, the apostle Paul includes “outbursts of wrath” in his list of unchristian activities. James 1:20 says that the “wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Can you think of any examples in the Bible where someone reacted to something with an outburst of wrath? Did it ever lead them down the path of righteousness? So, if we should not exhibit wrath in situations such as what happened to me, what should we do?
Pray. I needed to pray not just for myself but also for the other person. I needed to pray that God would help me react in a way that would honor Him and that He would continue to work changes in the life of the other person.
Remember. I needed to remember that we are all sinners and that I am not any better than anyone else. I could choose to look down on this person. To say that they obviously were not wanting to follow Jesus but honestly, I don’t know that. Only Jesus knows the heart; therefore, I should keep my eyes on the hope that maybe one day their relationship with Jesus will help them overcome their addiction.
Focus. Where was my focus, on God or myself? There’s a reason why James says our human wrath doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. I was offended. I was hurt. I was wanting this person to be in “my kingdom” instead of God’s! This person did not sin against me, all sin is against God. When the prophet Nathan came to Kind David to confront him with what had happened between David, Bathsheba, and Uriah, David said “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). In the process of sinning we do hurt other people; however, the bottom line is that we have sinned against God. And if He is willing to forgive us how much more should we be willing to forgive each other?