Everyone has their Pet Peeve... One of mine is ……telemarketers.
Is there any group more persistent than telemarketers?
Like the determined character in a horror movie, once a telemarketing company has you in its sights, it won’t stop chasing you until you agree to buy some product you have no interest in.
In a time when people tend to carry smartphones everywhere, telemarketers can strike you anytime and are seemingly impervious to disinterest or outright anger.
Tell them you’re not interested? They’ll call back.
Ask them to take your number off their list?
They might… or they might not and call once again to inflict their torture.
If they encounter your answering machine … they may leave a recorded message... but you can be assured ……they will call again.
Even If you are registered with the “do not call” service, ...as we have...chances are … that you will still receive a call.
I had a message left on my answering machine ……3 or 4 times a week for almost a year ... that assured me it was my last chance ...for a lower rate on my credit card.
I recently read ... if the message on your answering machine... begins with the tone of a disconnected line ……that most of these calls will cease.
I guess I need to give that…… a try. (Pause)
What gets to you?
Your neighbor's son or daughter…… playing music too loud.
At the family gatherings… a certain relative insists on being the center … of attention.
You are on time ... and you wish others ...would be ……as courteous.
You are extremely neat with all you do ...and wish the other members of the household … were as together... as you. (Pause)
You feel you have a right... to be angry ... So ……You ...become angry.
Yet ...what are you going to do ...with that anger?
Will you stay angry ...until the responsible parties ...acknowledge ...their guilt?
Well...You may wait ...a very long time.
Will you stay angry ...until you feel... you have sufficiently …Quote... “paid them back”?
Well...Who got…… paid back?
Will you get even ...by sharing their crime ...with others?
Congratulations, …you have just enlarged ...the problem.
Will you explode at them... because you cannot take the injustice ...any longer?
Well……Not much ...got solved did it?
Anger is a subtle ...emotion.
It often is veiled ...behind other emotions ...because ...we are afraid ...to acknowledge they even exist.
Perhaps ... you have been told ...it is wrong ...to get angry.
Maybe you feel justified... with your anger ... but do not know …... what to do ...with it.
(Sarcastic) We certainly... are not able to confront the person ...who made us angry …… good heavens... no.
We would rather… keep our anger... than do that.
Most people ...when they are full of anger... become ... Very passive.
That is safer, ...or so we think.
We still might get even... but in more acceptable ways than throwing a chair... or shouting at the top... of our voice.
We procrastinate, ...show up late, ...lower our performance, ...dress sloppy, ...obstruct progress, ...cut with humor, ...shut off... criticize to our understanding friends... or use other indirect methods ...of getting even.
At home ...some feel freer ……about exploding.
They treat those … they say they love... With less respect…then they would treat…a stranger.
At church …or in the workplace... we are more devious ...or indirect.
Anger …is one of the hardest emotions ...for Christians ...to deal with ... Due to the confusion ...regarding it.
We often... do not acknowledge we have it ...because…… we feel ...we are not supposed ...to have it... In the first place.
So, we call it something else, ...deceive ourselves, …and tear apart the body of Christ... with unloving responses ... or unloving actions.
There has to be a better way …… and Beloved ...(Slow) there is.
The apostle Paul... gives us some steps ...when dealing with angry …… he writes:
BIBLE "Be angry... but do not sin; ... do not let the sun go down ...on your anger... and do not make room ...for the devil" END (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Be Angry… But do not sin! (Pause)
According to a news article... "The average person ...feels some degree of anger … or its lower-grade cousin, ...frustration... ten to fourteen times... a day."
All the more reason …to identify It ...accept it......and address it.
Beloved……The Scriptures tell us... that God too ...gets angry.
Where God's love is refused … Where God's holiness is mocked, ... God cannot... remain indifferent.
To do so ...would make Him... impersonal … rather than ...compassionate.
The more you appreciate God's love, ... Then … the more … you can respect ...God’s anger.
And God's love ...is just as true ...in the Old Testament ... as God's anger is ...in the New Testament.
The ability ……to be angry …is a God-given emotion. (Pause)
Florence Nightingale ...was known for her anger ...Anger against inadequate ...hospital care.
William Carey ……was angered ...Angered by the inhumane slave trade... in Africa.
The anger of African Americans ...riding in the back of the bus ...led to much needed... civil rights.
Today … communities are rising up in anger…… anger over the drug issues…... over human trafficking … and over the violence ...caused by gangs.
And Communities ... are seeking ...to do something... about it.
Parents need to ...rear their children... or grandchildren ...in an environment... in which they are free to express anger... in appropriate ways ...and without being ridiculed.
People who grew up with the admonition”: … "Don't be angry" … Truly... did not obey it; ... they just hid it.
And... repressed anger ...is the number one source... of …… depression.
Beloved ...Be angry……But do not sin.
Jesus got angry, ... So...it is possible ……to be angry ...without sinning.
The problem is... that often … Our Anger ... leads... to sin.
Anger is an emotion... a response ...to a threat.
A threat to our life, ……our character, …our opinion, ...our property, ...our time.
What we do ...after that emotional response of anger … determines …whether we sin… or do not sin.
God warned an angry Cain ...to get a hold on himself ...because sin ...was crouching... at his door. (Genesis 4:7).
The Scriptures remind us ...that God is … (Slow) slow ...to anger.
Not so ...with most... of us.
An unkind word... can set some off ...in a flash.
It has been said, ..."If you do not talk it out, ... ……You will take it out." REPEAT
Anger turned out ……leads to aggression ...Anger turned in ...leads to depression.
Many have seen ...the bumper sticker: … "Don't get angry …… get even."
Vindication …is more socially acceptable...in our culture... when addressing anger.
Yet Paul tells warns us … BIBLE “Do Not Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger.” END
In other words, …deal with your anger ...address your anger...and do it …...quickly.
Jesus states in Matthews Gospel, (Slow) "To settle matters quickly … with your …adversaries” (Matthew 5:25).
Anger neglected ...leads to bitterness, … and bitterness ... that is a sin. REPEAT
Beloved...Bitterness ……is anger … gone to seed... In your heart.
Bitterness … eats away... at the soul ...like a cancer, …affecting both the body... and the spirit.
In his book None of These Diseases … Dr. McMillen writes this ...about anger and hate:
"The moment I start hating a man, … I … become his slave.
I can't enjoy my work anymore... because he even controls ...my thoughts.
The man I hate… hounds me …wherever I go.
My teeth chew the food ...and I swallow it, ...but the man I hate…… will not permit me... to enjoy it.
The man I hate ……whips my thoughts into such a frenzy ...that my innerspring mattress ...becomes a rack…… of torture." Beloved...Have you ...been there? (Pause)
Paul shares these words of truth with us: …” Give No Opportunity ... (Slow) … to the Devil.”
Destructive emotions... need to be dealt with… ...although... dealing with them...can often be... painful.
Remember... the removal of a cancerous tumor from the body ……is also ...both essential …and painful.
Anger... not properly discharged … will lead to … hostility.
And hostility ...is an ongoing attitude, ... one that endangers... those who hold it … as well as those ……who receive … it’s wrath.
Bitterness and Anger… left unchecked... is a fire …that burns... that can rage … within us.
When we say, ..."That really burns me up,"... we are closer to the truth … than we may ever realize.
Scripture warns us ……not to let the sun go down... on our anger.
Beloved … Anger ...in a way... can be compared ...to manna.
God told the Hebrews ...to collect enough manna ...for each day ... because what was left overnight ... would sour.
Likewise, ... unattended anger... sours … it rots … within our very being.
It begins to spoil within us ...and it becomes the devil's opportunity ...to poison us.
Beloved … Even… if the fist ...is not clenched... in anger … the heart ...often is.
And Anger ... Unchecked...blocks our ability... to receive ……from God.
Hear God’s Word: BIBLE “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; ?for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. ” END (James 1:19-21). (Put Bible Down)
Beloved...We need… to address our anger... and bring it to God ...for His healing.
Paul goes on to tell the Ephesians, BIBLE “Put away from you ...all bitterness ...and wrath ...and anger... and wrangling …and slander, ...together with ...all malice” END (Ephesians 4:31).
Beloved ... (1 Finger) Acknowledge your anger ... Acknowledge where you hid it ...in your heart.
(2 Fingers) Confess … Confess to God...where the anger... has turned to sin.
(3 Fingers) Forgive… Forgive those You are hostile with ... For God wants to free you ...from all tyranny and resentment.
(4) And Lastly Beloved...Learn to... (Slow) Stop, Look and Listen!
Stop ...before you say something.
Look ...to see …why you are angry.
Listen for a better response. REPEAT ALL 3
Stop, Look and Listen.
(Slow Down) It is time to Be mature men and women ...of the cross.
Give No Opportunity……to the Devil.
Do not... let anger ...burn ...within you.
Do not ...let the sun go down… on your anger.
Stop ...before you say something.
Look ...to see …why you are angry.
Listen for a better response.
Stop… Look…and Listen.
Beloved ...Be angry ... Be angry...Be angry.
Have a righteous anger … but … (Slow) do not sin!
Amen and Amen!
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