Teaching about Anger

Today's Reflections 
 
                                                             

 

Teaching about Anger 

 http://graceandspace.org

 

Mt 5:20-26

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ²⁰“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. ²³Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

WHOEVER IS ANGRY. One area of “greater holiness” that Jesus teaches in his Sermon on the Mount touches on the law prohibiting murder or killing a human being, ordered by the Fifth Commandment. One who kills is liable to judgment; he has to pay with his own life the life he took away. Jesus teaches that one should remove from his heart the motive behind murder, which is anger. So, someone who insults his brother by calling him Raqa! (imbecile, blockhead) already violates the commandment; he is already “killing softly” his neighbor.

A sign of spiritual maturity is maintaining calm under stressful situations. Anger, after all, is a key to other diseases that affect not only your spirit but also your vital organs, like the heart, kidney, and liver. In other words, anger may kill you or lead you to kill others if you give in to it.

As human beings, we cannot fully control the conditions that affect our emotions. In a day, many situations can make us lose our temper. Jesus says that, if we do get angry, let us forgive or seek to be reconciled as soon as possible.

If you forgive and forget easily,

you are actually a winner.

There is no substitute for peace

that reigns in your mind and heart!