Jesus 101: Bridge Builders

No human emotion is more powerful and dangerous than anger.  When I think of anger, I think of the Incredible Hulk!

In the Marvel comic, Bruce Banner was a great scientist who was accidentally exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays.  The result was that whenever he gets angry, he transforms to a huge green beast in human form who proceeds to tear up everything around him.

Like many comic book heroes, we can see the Hulk as a metaphor.  He's a metaphor for the potential beast in each of us. When our anger rises, we can become beasts who commit destructive acts in our rage.

We find anger often in the scriptures.  In Genesis 4, Cain becomes angry at God because he didn't accept his offering.  God asks him why he's angry and warns him that sin is crouching at his door, ready to consume him.  Cain doesn't listen, and his anger leads him to commit the first murder.

The Lord Jesus talked about anger in Matthew 5:21ff.  He quoted Exodus 20:13, which prohibits murder.  But Jesus expanded this command to say that anyone who is angry with someone else is liable to judgment as well.  That's because their anger can cause them to harm their brothers, even to murder them.

Anger isn't a sin.  It's a feeling.  It comes up involuntarily, like when our eyes blink at a sudden bright light, or we jump at a sudden loud noise behind us.  It's what we do with our anger that's important.

Jesus' commands in Matthew 5:21ff suggest that we deal with our anger in a healthy way.  We also take initiative to build bridges to those who are angry with us!

Your anger can cause you harm others.  But the person your anger harms the most is you!  Someone once said, "Entertaining your anger is like swallowing poison, hoping someone else will die!"

As we deal with our own anger, Christ calls us to be bridge builders in our nation.  We seek to bring reconciliation between people and God, and people and people!

Don't let the sun go down on your anger.  Be a reconciler and bridge builder!