"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth"
Colossians 3:8, ESV
It's an interesting thought, right? "Put them away" has such a vivid connotation to me, because I'm always asking that my kids put their toys away, and put their clothes away, and put their dishes away. Of course, each one has a different meaning for "away," but it is an interesting point of discussion, I think, to put one's wrath and anger away.
I think of it like the toys and the clothes, because when they're strewn about the house, someone is bound to step on something, or break something, or dirty something, or rip something, or lose something... but if only those things were put in the place they belonged, that wouldn't happen. Now picture those little action figurines on the floor of your living room, and imagine that they were labeled with the words "anger, wrath, malice, slander, hatred, aggravation, agitation, temper," and so on. Husband, would you want your wife to trip over one of those? Wife, would you want your husband to do the same? Mom and Dad, how about for your kids? And kiddos, do you need your parents stubbing toes on these toys?
I call them "toys," because of the truth that we DO coddle and nurture our anger at times. We all do it, for one thing or another, and there's always some ridiculous and selfish reason to which we cling that we explain as our own personal justification for our anger. The reasons are different for everyone, and they spread wider than can be imagined in the list of possible answers, but everyone has at least one. And when we're feeling down, or someone steps on our pride a little too hard (or sometimes just looks in our direction in such a way that we can convince ourselves that there was a menacing glance directed at us specifically), we pull our toys out to play.
In Ephesians 4:26 (ESV), Paul teaches to "Be angry, and do not sin," which I would tie to this directly as saying that you can pull your toys out WHEN AND IF THERE IS REAL JUSTIFICATION, but they must be put away before you hurt someone with them. And now, without even realizing it, you're imagining telling me your excellent reason for being justified in your particular anger. Allow me to just say this... there was the Guy named Jesus, and He was arrested wrongfully; beaten beyond recognition publicly; tortured with no cause; put on trial wrongfully; accused wrongfully; convicted wrongfully; forced to carry His own device of crucifixion up to Calvary; hung on that cross with nails driven through His hands and feet, in the most humiliating way possible, with mockery on the ground among the guards, from one of the fellow recipients of the same punishment that day, and on a sign above His head; MURDERED through this awful means of execution called crucifixion; and mocked the entire time, with no remorse from anyone jeering, while a crown of long and sharp thorns was forced onto His brow and scarlet robes were paraded about Him. Yet, He said nothing except, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do" in Luke 23:34.
He. Is. Justified. And given what He endured, since He is the model, and His responses are the example, and we are charged to live as Christ lived, I will have to ask if I am justified. I would also ask that you ask yourself if you are justified.
Pick up your toys, folks. Be responsible with those things you do possess, and make certain they aren't left about to hurt other people. After all, it won't be the random passersby that you inflict pain upon... it will be those you hold most dear, because they are the ones walking around barefoot in your presence, while all of you are at home. It will be the ones that are closest to you, the ones you never in a million years would want to harm. It will be the very people you are intent upon protecting... trust me, because I know from personal experience.
God bless you all!!!
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