To summarize this passage, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Passover, when He goes into the temple He finds merchants selling their merchandise. He becomes very angry, pushes their stuff onto the ground, turns over their tables, yells at them and drives them out of the temple.
I have always liked this because Jesus shows us it's okay to be angry, and to show anger. one thing that has always bothered me is that a lot of times people are taught that it is okay to feel anger but, don't hit, don't stomp your feet, don't scream, don't slam the door. Well, how are we suppose to express our anger? It seems we're not. So we suppress it. So we have a bunch of angry people walking around not able to vent their anger because they are told it's wrong. I say WWJD? I think What Would Jesus Do should apply to everything. Not just the warm and fuzzy things. I have mentioned Neil Anderson of Freedom In Christ Ministries before. He is a biblical counselor. He really stresses taking every thought captive from 2Corinthians 10:5. Lets not forget Ephesians 4:26. Be angry but do not sin. So where do you draw the line? Who determines what sin is? Would some people consider what Jesus did sin, because it was somewhat violent? But, Jesus never sinned. So again where is that line? At what point do we cross it? Violating a law maybe? Assault, murder. I believe we should be able to go to the gym and take our frustrations out on a punching bag, or if you can't go, punch your pillow or something. If you are a crier go have a good cry, go somewhere and scream as loud as you can, just get it out. Notice I have not said anything about punching a hard stationary object. Definitely not a good idea. I've thought before I would like to start a place for people -my thought was mainly youth -to have a place to just go vent. To have people there to listen if they want to talk. But also to have punching bags and other methods to just to be able to release that anger. Why do you think that arcade game whac-a-mole is so popular? Okay, maybe that's not the real reason but it could be. Keeping anger in, can turn to bitterness. It has been proven that bitterness that is allowed to grow and fester can lead to various kinds of health problems. The true cure to all anger and bitterness is forgiveness. You cannot be angry after forgiving someone.
Search yourself today is there someone you're angry with? It's okay to vent but don't let that anger build up. As soon as you figure the source of your anger forgive that person. They don't even have to know you have forgiven them, all they will see is the change in you.
This is always a tough one to get a handle on so, thanks for searching with me, Paul.
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