Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 1 - Martin Wiles

And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Ephesians 5:26 NLT

Funny how quickly a pleasant morning can reverse itself.

Mom had rented a booth at the local flea market. We arrived early and began unloading our wares. The gentleman renting the space beside us was doing the same—only he placed some items on one of our tables. Since I hadn’t made my way back to where I needed to be with God, I informed the man of his mistake, using a few choice words. Silence followed my tirade. Either he didn’t hear me or chose to ignore this young whipper snapper. But Mom called me to the side and said, “You can’t talk to him like that. He’s a member of our church.”

Of all the emotions, anger is perhaps the most misunderstood. Knowing some facts about it can help.

Fact 1: Anger isn’t a sin.

Another translation of this same verse reads, Be angry and sin not. Anger is one of the natural emotions God created in the human makeup. When people wrong us or offend our families or friends—or when circumstances seem unfair—it’s natural for us to get angry.

Jesus was angered by the money changers who cheated the people coming to worship God. He was also angered by the religious elite, who misinterpreted the intent of God’s Word and placed the people under cumbersome rules.

Fact 2: Anger often leads to sinful acts.

Although anger is a natural emotion, it’s also volatile. Anger in and of itself isn’t a sin, but anger often leads to sinful actions. Mine did at the flea market. How we process anger is crucial. Righteous anger leads us to correct injustices through moral and godly avenues. It moves us to act, but the actions won’t be sinful.

Fact 3: No one can make us angry.

I’m guilty of saying, “He (or she) makes me angry,” or “That makes me so mad.” In reality, I choose to get angry. If someone can make me angry, they have power over me. And if that’s the case, I can blame them for my anger and the resulting actions and then justify them in my mind. But we can’t. Anger is our choice.

How can you process your anger in beneficial ways?

Father, when others or unpleasant circumstances anger me, show me how to process my actions in godly ways. 

Tweetable: Is anger controlling you? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Dropping the Wrong Word Bomb - Martin Wiles

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 NIV

I have no proof, but a lifetime of experience has shown me the “f” bomb has become more popular.

As a young boy growing up—and even as a teenager—the f-bomb was considered one of the filthiest words anyone could say. Men didn’t use it in front of women, and society looked sideways at women who used it. Using it in public was a big no-no. Anyone who did received a dirty look from friends and strangers alike—and perhaps a tongue-lashing. But now . . .

Two days after Christmas 2019, my wife and I walked across the Skybridge in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As we passed a family who had stopped to take pictures, the father dropped the bad bomb because he thought we should have stayed behind them and waited until they finished.

One day later, my wife and I walked through our local Walmart and encountered two young men walking down an aisle. They conversed with each other—loudly enough for those they passed to hear—and sure enough, one dropped the bomb.

What was once an uncommon word—at least to hear aloud—has now become acceptable. And my jaw dropped when I heard about a local pastor who dropped it one night as he rode as a chaplain with a police officer.

Paul says we shouldn’t let any unwholesome talk come from our mouths, but only what builds others up. Unwholesome includes the f-bomb but also incorporates many other words and attitudes such as bitterness, unforgiveness, and anger—as well as gossip, slander, and off-color jokes.

Our speech reflects what’s on our inside. Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). When our speech comes out with dirty words, it shows our insides need attention.

Any words or attitudes that tear down rather than build up need to go. Dropping the f-bomb has become popular in part because others are doing it. Now it has caught on, become acceptable, and is spreading like a wildfire, which demonstrates how our words influence others.

Instead of dropping the bad word bombs—or any other unwholesome attitudes—let’s drop only those words and attitudes that build up and encourage others. When we do, the world will be a more pleasant place.

Prayer: Father, may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You. 

Tweetable: Are you dropping the wrong word bombs?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

The Talking Conscience - Martin Wiles

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. Romans 7:15 NLT

“D…. it.”

Had I really heard my four-year-old grandson say what I thought I had heard him say? I was busy, Meme was gone, and he was playing. I must have misunderstood him. After all, he’s a fast talker, and I often don’t understand him. I dismissed what I thought I had heard.

Later that day, I thought I heard him say it again. But this time, I was sure. And if I had doubts, his six-year-old brother dismissed them.

“He said D… it,” the older brother piped.

Meme quickly chimed in, “Where did you hear that word?”

The older brother knew we forbade the word. A couple of years prior, he had picked up a few choice words. I had talked with him and told him which ones were “bad” words. Now he served as the bad-word Nazi for his younger brother.

Our younger grandson’s eyes widened when Meme and I questioned him. As far as he knew, he had just added a word to his vocabulary. He had no idea the word was a curse word.

“Where did you hear it?” I asked again when he didn’t answer his Meme.

“On a movie,” he finally answered, not seeming to know where he had actually heard it.

No doubt, he had heard it on a movie or a television show or from an adult who carelessly spoke it in his presence. We didn’t fuss at him. He didn’t know any better. We simply explained it was a word God didn’t want us to say.

From now on, if he says the word, he will hear voices…or a Voice. I’ve also heard voices since I was about his age. I still hear them. I wasn’t crazy when I was young, and I’m not now. Nor have I ever visited a psychiatrist to determine why I hear voices. I know why.

My voices are a part of the same issue Paul dealt with. He heard voices, too. One bad and one good. One from God and one from his enemy, Satan. And Paul did battle, often losing in the process by listening to the wrong voice. I’ve often lost the same battle.

We come into this world with a bent toward badness. God also creates in us a thing called the conscience. It’s the part of us that He—but also Satan—speaks to us through. When I do or say something errant, God tells me I shouldn’t have and that I need to confess my sin to Him. Satan, on the other hand, tells me not to worry about what God says.

Like my grandson, I don’t automatically know what’s right and wrong. Someone has to teach me, as my wife and I and our daughter have taught our grandson—as have his teachers at church and at school. When I program my conscience with God’s requirements, then I can trust the voice in my head when it warns me not to say or do what I’m thinking about saying or doing.

Although our grandson didn’t hear the voice when he first uttered the “bad” word, he will from now on. Someone told him not to say it, and God will use that teaching and speak to him through his conscience.

God uses our consciences for good purposes and uses us to help program others’ consciences. When we listen, our lives are better and so is the world.

Let your conscience be your guide.

Prayer: Father, thank You for speaking through our consciences to keep us on the proper life track.

Tweetable: Can your conscience be your guide? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.