Ace stopped by. After our last meeting, I proposed using a card as part of his anger defying tool kit. He showed me his well used card and reported how he hasn't gone ballistic since our last meeting. How great is that! He raised another facet to the whole anger question. He sometimes feels extreme negativity towards others. He might not go public and express what he is feeling, but he still feels it. So then he asked, "How is it possible for someone who loves Jesus to have such an unloving response to his fellow-man?" GREAT QUESTION! Any ideas?
I suggested a related topic for him to ponder: "Is anger the evil twin of zeal for God?" This is a question with profound implications. If the answer is "yes," then trying to eliminate anger may be less effective than converting anger into zeal for the things of God. We are transformed as we live in Christ. Is it possible for anger to be transformed into something constructive? What do you think?
David's outrage at Israel's response to Goliath suggests there is some correlation between anger and zeal for God, as would Jesus' use of a whip clearing the temple of vendors in John 2:13-17.
However, I think it is noteworthy that both references cast the anger that their zeal engendered in a positive light.
David's actions appear to meet God's hearty approval in his encounter with Goliath, raising a question as to whether anger is the "evil twin" or just the "sometimes evil twin" of Godly zeal.
Posted by: Austin | December 06, 2007 at 04:20 PM