Becoming the Hulk
How to Avoid the Monster
JAM. gregg barbour. 7.27.03.
Robert Bruce Banner was born in Dayton, Ohio to Dr. Brian and Rebecca Banner. Bruce was loved by his mother, but hated by his alcoholic father. Dr. Brian Banner had been exposed to radiation and would do certain experiments on himself. He determined that his son’s intelligence was a mutation derived from that exposure. Bruce was raised by his aunt after his father murdered his mother, and went on to attend Desert State University, and then the California Institute of Technology. He went on to work at a nuclear research facility in Desert Base, New Mexico, where a horrible Gamma Bomb accident created an alter ego within him called the Hulk. The Hulk was 7 feet, 1000 pounds of relentless fury. His strength was Incredible, but he had no control over his actions. According to the Comics: in the beginning days, Bruce would transform into the Hulk at sunset, and then under periods of stress and anger. Now, if you’ve seen the movie…the madder that the Hulk got, the bigger he became, and with that fury came more uncontrollable rage. The Hulk is one bad creature, able to pound people into next week with a single thump. He’s strong and powerful, and can teach us an important lesson. We’ve got to handle our anger positively. It’s easy for people to fly off the handle, especially if they’ve bottled up emotions over time. They can pop their top and unleash some serious anger on others. We’ve got to learn how to avoid the monster if we want to have character that represents God. This is a list of the top ten things that we thought would make you turn into the Hulk:
10. Getting your books dumped in the hallway.
9. Being told that you’re too young to date.
8. Too little money; too much homework.
7. Having to baby-sit your younger siblings.
6. Waking up Monday morning with a huge zit.
5. Being told you must dress up for church.
4. Three words: “Chores, Chores, Chores.”
3. Being grounded for something you didn’t do.
2. Getting picked on by high schoolers.
1. Being told you’re acting like a baby when you lose your cool.
These things may make you begin the transformation process from who you are to the Hulk, but I want to help you be able to deal with hot feelings in a cool way. We’re going to learn today that God wants us to handle our anger positively.
The truth is that everyone gets angry. Everyone struggles with it and it’s simply part of being human, but we don’t have to be controlled by it. Dr. Buddy Rydell from Anger Management says there are 2 kinds of angry people: Explosive and Implosive. Explosive are the kind of people that yell at the cashier when they won’t accept their coupons. Implosive are the kind of people that keep their anger bottled in and then express their anger in a huge way. An implosive person would be the cashier that accepts the rude comments day after day and then one day pops, and shoots everyone in the place. We can control our anger. What are some things that make you angry? (allow responses) (Joe Somebody clip) It’s ok to be angry, what might not be ok is how we handle it.
I’m gonna let you play detective for just a few minutes. I’m going to give you three clues, and you can ask only 10 questions to help you figure out what happened. I can’t give you any names, but I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Here are the clues: A rich man who owned a great deal of livestock lies dead in his house. A leader of a band of mercenary soldiers had just been insulted by the dead man. The dead man’s widow is soon to be married to the leader of the soldiers. (Allow questions, and give answers) So, what happened? Did this man turn into the hulk and kill the rich man who called him a weenie and take his woman? Nope. There was a man named Nabal, who had 1000 goats and 3000 sheep. While this guys servants were looking after the sheep, David and all his man made a wall around them to protect them from harm, because they knew it was time to shear the sheep so this man could make money from the wool. So David sent some men to this man Nabal to let him know what they’d done so he could bless them with some food or anything they could find. In Ancient times, a person’s name was believed to reflect his nature and character. In Hebrew, the name Nabal means “fool,” and this is exactly what he was. He paid no attention to what David did for him, and gave them nothing. David was furious with this man’s reply so he ordered his men to grab their swords so he could go and kill this man. While they were devising a plan, Abigail, Nabal’s intelligent and beautiful wife shows up with tons of gifts and food. She pleads for the lives of the men in her village, and consults David that the Lord will take care of him and bring him success. She keeps him from doing something hostile with her intervention and David grants her request to spare the lives of her people. When Abigail told Nabal what happened the scripture says he became like a stone…which possibly means he had a stroke, and 10 days later he was dead, and David proposed to Abigail. David was able to handle his anger well.
Another man got angry in Scripture. Read John 2:13-17, “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and other sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sol doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’ His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” It’s ok to be angry. Jesus was angry, but he handled his anger in a positive way, and it was good for him to do so. He was able to keep the temple of God a place of worship because of it.
Just like David and Jesus, we all get angry sometimes, but we can handle our anger positively no matter what the situation. The Bible gives us some helpful principles to help us build our character when dealing with this anger issue. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Paul says that it’s ok to be angry, but that we shouldn’t let it cause us to sin. We also shouldn’t let our anger take over us and become who we are. Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry. God wants us to handle whatever it is that we’re upset about that very same day. Verses, 31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” We are to express our anger in a positive way and replace it with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Let’s look at another couple verses. James 1:19-20 says, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” The Hulk has a short temper. He gets angry too quick, that’s why he can’t deal with it. He lets it take him over. If we’re slow to become angry, then we have a better chance of catching it before it gets out of control. A life that is constantly becoming the monster isn’t a life that God desires. He wants you to be able to deal with your anger. So whenever you become angry, you need to stop and get your feeling under control. Maybe it would be practical for you to take a deep breath and count to ten, or take a walk, or take a cold shower to cool off. You could talk to God immediately about it, or take it out on something that won’t hurt you or others like a pillow, write out what you’re feeling. Whatever it is that helps you control your anger is what you need to do. It’s not healthy to keep it bottled in and explode on people for no reason. Ask God to help you express your anger in a positive way.
This morning, maybe some of us are angry, and maybe some of us have been the object of another’s anger. Whatever the case, God wants to help us get through this. He offers his love, grace, compassion, and his Incredible strength to help us deal with problems like anger. This is all part of trying to become like Him and allowing Him to reproduce His character in you. Take time during this next song to do business with God. I’ll be here to pray with you and for you if you need it. Let’s pray.
