Colossians 3:8 But now rid yourselves (completely) of all these things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene (abusive, filthy, vulgar) language from your mouth.

Hi guys! I know this verse is pretty heated, but I pray that it is also heartfelt. Because I was unable to underline my focal point I decided to highlight it in bold instead. Today’s post will specifically talk about anger. This is an exposing subject for me, but this is why my blog page exists. It is not to show how perfect I am, but to show God perfecting me through His Grace and by His Spirit. So here we are, haha!

Alright so I have already been aware of my anger issues. When people want to build any sort of relationship with me, I often say, “I can catch an attitude sometimes.” Of course the reply is always, “Oh no, you? I can’t picture that.” I laugh at their unbelief as if that is something to proudly broadcast. Now, knowing your shortcomings in itself is not bad. Where I stunningly went wrong was actively being okay with my attitude problem. Having head knowledge of my anger/bad attitude is not enough. The thought to want to change is not enough when I am telling people this is what’s wrong with me and leaving it there. What I am charged to do is to relay I am a working progress so I do not want you to think I am a perfect person. There are things I am currently seeking God for and trying to work on which is: x, y, z. That shows my flaws, awareness, and a true desire to change. Whereas the previous “intro of me” just showed my flaws and agreement that this is who I am you’ve been forwarned. Ouch! That hurt!

I never thought me stating my flaws could be a bad thing. In fact, I thought it was quite admirable of me since most people don’t share that kind of vulnerable information. That’s where I went wrong! Basing my logic off of comparing myself to most people and not aligning my actions with The Word and being led by The Spirit. This is why my wrongful attitude was only suppressed and not fully confessed so that God can replace it with a better one. My admittance was for self-gratification and not a real self-evaluation. Oh people can see I revealed a flaw and marvel at my “humility” even though I am still in agreement with said flaw because my heart has not submitted to change. Part of me felt entitled to being angry because it is a natural emotion, not giving regard to the extremity of my anger that always reared its ugly head. Thanks be to God for spiritual awakening! He would not let me slumber in my stupor of pride in false humility. Instead, He showed me the better way of being transparent with others while actively working on a healthy temperament.

Now for clarity, this is not to rule out the emotion of anger. There are plenty of godly reasons to be angry about something. It is when the anger does not lead to prayer and promotes the agenda of the enemy. When it leads to discord, bitterness, resentment, as well as, being externally shared, violently with words and/or actions. Also, when it is internally harbored, meaning not outwardly shown, but, inwardly being kept inside of our hearts which then produces grudges, unforgiveness, bitterness, unmerited guilt and shame on people who haven’t wronged us(due to past experiences), and fear. Wow, did I say fear? Yes, because there are times where we are fearful due to unforgiveness. Betrayal, neglect, abandonment, and rejection can cause anyone to be angry which can produce those seeds that were previously mentioned which breeds fear. “Because my best friend betrayed me, I am going to critique every thing a potential friend does because I am still angry with my offender.” “Because my father abandoned me, I am going to keep everyone I love super close to me because I am still angry of his decision not to be there and if I feel any distance from the people I hold close, I will lash out.” “Because I was rejected, I am going to seek validation through people, my career, or even my salvation(as if I earned it) so I can feel secure within myself.” Meaning look at me I am a Christian and you are not! What God hears is, “I still hold on to rejection so I am rejecting you too!” How do we reject? By not earnestly praying for our enemies, loving our enemies, and when given the opportunity, helping our enemies, as we would those we are at peace with.

These are things we secretly do that we outwardly project in our lives without even knowing. So, I charge you to not be held captive any longer by ungodly anger, but ask God for a divine exploration of your deepest thoughts and broken desires and let’s deal with whatever He finds. It’s not only for our good, but for the good of those around us, including our enemies. For if we display rightly placed anger and are not driven by emotions, but wisdom, in our dealings with people and life’s circumstances it is a Light to be shown in this dark world and an opportunity for our enemies to see Jesus because we chose to submit to God so they can see The Works of God in us.