Yesterday I woke up mad. Not crazy (at least in my way of thinking), just plain angry. Mad at the alarm clock, mad at myself, mad at circumstances of the day before, mad at my husband, mad at my kids, mad at the dog. Didn't matter. If there was something to be mad at, I was mad at it.
I knew I needed to go to God and his word, and I did, to try to get my perspective back in line with truth. I read my one year Bible reading for the day hoping something would jump out at me that would help me change my attitude. Somehow the levitical laws stating that women having their "menstrual impurity" were unclean didn't do it for me. That made me mad, too. So I got dressed and went to work. Stupid laws.
My co-workers, bless their hearts, were patient with me as I ranted at my computer, grunted at ridiculous emails and groaned with frustrating time restrictions. Stupid work.
And my attitude didn't get much better when my daughter asked about my day, and declared after I shared my current state of being, "You're not allowed to be in a bad mood. That makes me in a bad mood." That made me mad. Stupid kids.
I have to admit, I didn't try too hard to quit being mad. I was careful not to take my anger out on anyone - even the dog, but I entertained the idea that it was kind of fun not to have to be positive and upbeat. Don't you ever wish you didn't have to be so nice? After all, Christians are supposed to be nice, all the time, right?
I got to thinking about Jesus and the fig tree. He was hungry and went to the tree hoping to get a snack. There were no figs on it, and he got mad, cursed the tree, and it withered away to its roots. Stupid tree.
And then he went into the temple and kicked the money changers out on their butts.
Jesus got mad.
No apology. Oh, sorry guys. Didn't mean to be so negative. Hope you weren't uncomfortable.
No excuses. I'm not myself when I get hungry.
No justifying. Hey, it was for a good cause. Righteous indignation.
No guilt. I shouldn't feel like this. You would think the Son of God could have it all together.
And what did the disciples say? Nada. Nothing. They didn't tell him he wasn't allowed to be in a bad mood, they didn't assume it was the wrong time of the month (Why is that always the assumption when a woman is having a bad day?), they didn't warn about the bad example he was setting, they didn't order him to snap out of it or to quit being selfish and unreasonable (figs weren't even in season - what did he expect?).
Jesus just got mad.
I love him.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:26
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You preach it sister!
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I think being in a bad mood is a little different than Jesus cursing a tree for having no fruit when it appeared to have it, or throwing the money changers out for defiling the Lord's house. Isn't righteous anger different than a "bad mood"?
ReplyDeleteI'm a little worried that his might be miscontrued. Jesus did indeed "have it all together"! and in his perfection he was righteously angry at people using the Lord's house to deal dishonestly with people. The fig tree was, I believe, an object lesson about the unfruitfulness of the nation. I don't believe he just lost control emotionally because he was in a bad mood. That would indicate a lack of self discipline, which would mean the Son of God was not filled with the Sirit, wouldn't it? As a believer, I get much more joy out of allowing the Spirit to fill me so I'm not a crank. Of course He understands when we are grouchy, because he was tempted the same way we are,- but without sin (losing self control. I'm interested in other comments. I'm afraid you may be seen as calling Jesus imperfect. (I know that's not what you meant.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I don't disagree. I know the fig tree was symbolic and prophetic, and I know Jesus didn't lose self control when he got angry in the temple. I guess what hit me that day was the fact that Jesus did get angry. And it was ok. Nobody chastised him for it. I didn't lose self control the day I was angry either. He was with me in the midst of it. He didn't chastise me for it. I was not sinning by being angry. Bad mood whatever. Having said that, I also know the joy and desireability of overcoming emotions that don't agree with the truth. Walking in the truth is way better and being emotionally healthy is something that I'm passionate about. Just that particular day, I felt loved by Jesus who was a man and knew what it was like to feel angry.
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