Saturday, August 16th TENSION/ANGER …. Ephesians 4: 26b … “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” There was a time, a number of years ago and in a former congregation, when tension was so high you could almost feel it in the air. There was much tension in the congregation and tension between staff members. Yes, we were a church but there was still tension. Yes, we were a people of faith, but there was still tension. One of the staff members and I visited openly, honestly and prayerfully about this tension that we acknowledged was NOT from Jesus. What should we do? We had prayed and we had wrung our hands, what to do? We decided, that with each situation that produced tension, we’d ask ourselves … Is this a mountain or a mole hill? I’m smiling now as I type this but believe me, I wasn’t smiling when this was happening. Is this a mountain or a mole hill? Sounds too simple to really matter, but it really did not only matter it made a huge difference. Most of the situations we encountered truly ended up being mole hills. Our tensions created most of the mountains, not the actual situations. Another question we asked was, “In 10 years will this even matter?” And, again, most of the time we had to admit that in 10 years many, if not most, of the situations that had the potential of creating tension (and anger) would not only not matter in 10 years but we realized that we’d probably not even remember what they were. What role does tension/anger play in your life, in your relationships and in your family? When you are thinking about your particular situation(s), ask yourself .. Is this a mountain or a mole hill? Or maybe you’ll choose to ask, In 10 years will this particular event/situation event matter? Tension/anger is/are not from Jesus. Jesus knows that if we end our days with tension and anger in our hearts, not only will we not sleep well but we will awaken with the same anger and tension in our hearts. That’s not what Jesus wants for you and for me. Dear Jesus, We honestly believe that tension and anger are not from you, but they seem to creep into our hearts so quickly and easily. Help us, help us to give all that hinders us from loving others to be gone from our lives and our hearts. Not only do we want to sleep peacefully, we want to live peacefully. Amen Blessings of peace! PS
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 04:15:12 +0000
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