What makes you mad, I mean
really angry? How about the terrible
driver next to you or maybe a sassy child? What about insults, being falsely
accused, being interrupted, others taking credit for your work, or a rude store
clerk? Obviously I made all of those up
because I’m not so petty they would get to me J but they do all have one thing in
common, they are about a perceived wrong done to me. Let’s go back to our friend from last week,
Nehemiah, and see what got him fired up and what we can learn about another kind
of anger.
Nehemiah 5:6
When I heard their outcry and these charges I was very
angry.
Things to think about:
· The
background is that many of the resettled Jews in Judah didn’t have enough money
and food to live on. The nobles and
officials were taking advantage of the situation and extorting their fellow
Jews to their own benefit. When Nehemiah
learned of this he was “very angry”.
o
Nehemiah wasn’t upset because of a personal affront but because of
a social injustice. He (and the nobles) knew it was against God’s law to charge
fellow Jews interest for lending money.
They were adding to the already heavy burden by taking their money,
land, and even their children.
· Anger is basically
a form of frustration: we see something that doesn’t align with how we feel it
“should” be
· Let’s look at
John 2:13-16
for another example of someone becoming angry
o
When it was almost time for the Jewish
Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep
and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made
a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and
cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their
tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop
turning my Father’s house into a market!”
o
We also see in Mark
3:5 Jesus get upset with the religious leaders when He healed a man’s hand
on the Sabbath
o
If you really want to hear Jesus get fired up,
look at Matthew
23 and His lashing out at the Pharisees
§ hypocrites, blind guides, brood of vipers, sons of hell
· Neither Jesus
nor Nehemiah was angry about how they felt they should be treated personally;
rather their anger was in response to God and His people not being properly
respected.
o
Making a mockery of God’s laws, God’s love
· So what makes
you angry?
o
Does it have more to do with you or Him?
· What should
make you angry?
o
What do you see in your sphere of influence that would benefit
from a righteous man taking a stand?
· Psalm 4:4
says, “In your anger, do not sin”.
o
Many of us are familiar with Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:26
to “Be angry and do not sin”
o
How do we manifest this righteous anger and still avoid sinning?
· God wants us
to be bold and defend His cause and His people.
o
Is God firing you up about an issue?
o
How can you use the fuel of anger to burn in a productive way?
