The 7th of 7... part 1...

We've been through the prior six, and we've extrapolated both the dangers and the points of advice to avoid each one.  We've looked into what each one does, and what it produces.  However, there is one thing that is produced by the whole of them put together, and it cannot be avoided.  It has many names, honestly, but we will simply refer to it by one, because it is the 7th of our group, and it is the end result of the culmination of any and/or all of the previous six... this, blessed Christian siblings, is wrath.

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?"

Romans 7:24, NIV

The words of Paul above are no different than the words of any Christian who sins after receiving salvation.  Guess what, folks... that's all of us.  And if you're not having the above reaction every time you sin, then a whole separate conversation needs to be held.  We should realize that we are saved, yes.  We should realize that we are covered in the grace and peace of Christ, through His atonement, sure.  However, if we fail to recognize that we are STILL sinners, even though we are redeemed ones, then we have missed the point entirely.

Speaking personally, I will admit that I still sin (shocker, right), and that it always produces the same effect.  I get mad.  I mean really mad.  Then, as the anger swells in me like the beginnings of a tumultuous storm, something else will happen in the immediate space around me, regardless of how small, and my anger finds its vent.  It becomes emesis on the floor of whatever just happened, and in that moment, wrath has taken hold of me.  It's not pretty, and I always end up apologizing later... but I'm not sure that does any good, because I end up doing it again.

Anger is an emotion, and we are given that emotion to experience it.  However, we are supposed to turn to the Father with all things (that whole "cast all your cares on Me" thing is for real, you know), and not turn inward.  Yet if there were a "pet sin" that I had to admit I harbor, this would be it.

(These next few sentences will be difficult for me, but they must be included.)  I like being angry.  I like to be mad, because I spent a large part of my life mad about something.  I spent that portion of my life mad, because I messed something up somewhere along the way, and then the consequences came and bit me in the behind, and I failed to blame myself... but I was really good at blaming someone else.  Honestly, I still am quite the virtuoso on the violin of blame.  I can blame anyone for anything, and most of the time it doesn't even make sense to me!  However, you should also know that my loquacious nature and oratory skill come with the ability to manipulate and twist words, phrases, and whole conversations into what I wish they had been.  And I am smart enough to convince myself of something.  Or, perhaps, I am stupid enough to fall for my own nonsense.  Either way, once I have convinced myself that someone else is to blame, my anger begins.  And like the thought that starts small in any sin, it then grows, finds more space, grows more, and becomes a full-blown monster.

That monster, once let loose, tends to convince my face that I am mad, and therefore I have a permanent line on my forehead.  I'm always asked if I am upset, and I always answer that I'm not, but the line in my head from my years of useless scowling is not going away any time soon.  The monster then goes to devour anything it can find, much like the little white lie in a Christian children's program, and this always starts with my family.  My wife and kids, the people I'm supposed to always show only the best of what I have to offer, are the ones who see the very, very worst.  They see me lose my cool over spilled water, shoes not in place, clothing not in a hamper... all ridiculous things.  Then it stems out to my parents, where it also should not go.  I have no reason to be upset with people who do nothing but love me and my family.  None at all.

The hardest part is coming now, so bear with me... I know that's nonsense, because no matter how slowly I type, you read a completed segment, and have no concept of the time involved, or how many times I go back and change something... but trust me, this is not easy.

I'm mad at myself, because of the mistakes I have made along the way.  I'm mad at myself, because of the trust that I have earned and then burned.  I'm mad at myself, because I know good and well that if I had only turned right at Albuquerque (trying to lighten the mood a little), I might have found this destination sooner.  I'm mad at myself, and not at all mad at them, but my pride keeps me from admitting it; my greed and lust to be right keeps me from admitting it; my gluttony for more reasons to be mad, and more things to be right about keeps me from admitting it; my envy of them for actually being right keeps me from admitting it; and then my anger takes over, full force, and spews out, becoming wrath.

I'll apologize each and every time, and things always go back to "normal," but it's never really the same.  Each explosion chips away at things, and my anger becomes an architect of destruction.  And, as painful as this is for me to admit, the reality is that it is a pervasive issue in the entire human race.  How we handle it is what separates us.

We're going to spend a lot of time in this one, folks, but I believe that it will be a great learning experience for us all.  I pray that you will join me in remaining free from the simple steps into a pattern of anger.  Honestly, even though it isn't a religious film, per se, I'm still compelled to point out that anger is the path the the Dark Side, and this is a fact. 

Next we'll look at something truly terrifying about wrath, and I think that will be our collective turning point.  Until then, please pray with me for the grace and peace of Christ to reign in all of us, and that we would always portray the fruit of the Spirit, no matter what is going on.

God bless you all!!!