²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:20-26

Listen, holding on to your anger doesnt help you. It locks you in a prison cell. What kind of righteousness did the scribes and Pharisees have? They only had an ancestry of being God’s people. They called themselves the people of God and yet they killed the Son of God. They thought Jesus was taking their followers, duping and deceiving them, and turning their cash cow of the temple worship into nothingness.

In another place in James it says, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

and another, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

Do people do stuff to hurt us? Yes. Do they sometimes do them on purpose? Yes. Do we deserve and have a right to be angry? Well heres the thing, sometime we are angry and it comes out sideways as anger toward others but it is hiding something else. Something that we can’t see and don’t know how to put words too. I saw this little photo the other day and its perfect.

“Yesterday, I sat with my anger until it told me its real name,” the boy said.

“What is it?” asked the ox. “Grief.”

Maybe we’ve been hurt and we need to forgive and walk out of the prison of anger, or maybe we’ve just been angry toward others and don’t know why and need to sit with it and ask for it’s name. Truth set’s us free, then we can ask forgiveness from those we’ve been treating unkindly and without love.

Have you been angry? Is it just or unjust anger?

Father, forgive me for my anger. Forgive me for the anger I’ve had that was really something else and for the anger that I feel is justified because of someone elses actions toward me. No one has ever done to me what they did to Jesus. As I look to the cross and see how they crucified Him, and how He forgave them – for they knew not what they were doing. Lord, give me the courage to forgive and move forward free in the grace your have given. In Jesus name. Amen.

All is grace,

Starla