What if?
What if you lived your life without condemnation? Don’t get “disagreement” confused with “condemnation”. You can vigorously disagree with someone without condemning them?
Condemnation comes with some level of value judgment or negative character label like “He’s a ________?” Or “She’s just an __________?” Can we have a vigorous disagreement with our spouse without condemnation?
Which also leads us to ask can we be intensely angry, and even perhaps violent; and love our enemy at the same time?
Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves.
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
There is therefore no
There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. This is what comes to my mind. I always know that if I am feeling condemned I am not in the Spirit. Even if the other person is throwing words at me that are condemning it is my response, cause I believe that condemnation comes from the devil, and conviction comes from God.
As for t he anger, again we can be angry and sin not as God says, Jesus I believe was always hard on those who knew better and came down on them hard, but those who didn't He told them to go and sin no more.
God has enabled me to see that person as He does most of the time so I can love them. Some times though I have to take some time to do that,its when its someone close that it takes awhile for me to "walk in the spirit" and "let" the fruits of His Spirit manifest in me. After all if we are walking in His spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
When Jesus cleansed the temple it was righteous anger, how do we know when its righteous anger though. I think of my boys not seeing their Dad and how bitterness may rise up in me. I can let him know how I feel in firm words and I know without a doubt it is anger without sin, cause I have peace about it. I actually am resolving what is in my heart. I guess to me it all boils down to are we walking by the Spirit and listening to His voice...
what if?
This is probably the single biggest struggle of my life--disagreeing with someone in love but not in anger. I continually vacilate between stuffing my feelings or spewing anger all over everyone. Neither feels good to me--but I think it is possible to disagree in love but we gotta stop letting the little insignificant stuff bother us so much as well as stop letting others petty agendas get under our skin--we need to look at the bigger agenda that God has set before us--
Anger and forgiveness
Good question, one that Dave and I have been posing lately trying to put our feelings into perspective as we deal with the latest trial in life. We are angry and feel we have every right to be so, but at what point does one "sin" in their anger. I know that one can forgive someone without agreeing or condoning with what was done to them by another, but can one really be angry and it not spill over into bitterness and rage.
At what point do you say, "I am angry you have wrecked something that I entrusted to you, but..." But what? what is the rest of that sentence? "but I love you.. but I forgive you.. but I hope the best for you." All of these responses sound great and I can muster up these sentaments most days, but some days are harder- usually when I am elbow deep in shredded carpet and pet urine. I wrestle with the idea that forgiveness and anger are two totally different things. I forgive, but I still feel the burn of anger. so have I totally forgiven? That worries me because I don't want anything to hinder my relationship with God. Especially what some one else has done that I can not control.
So are you saying that you can be angry and still forgive the perpetrator?
Post new comment