Tame the Volcano

Among the many books I'm currently attempting to read through (outside of my desire each day to be reading the Word) is "Steering through Chaos" by Os Guinness. Dr. Guinness is the co-founder of the Trinity Forum, a leadership academy that works to cultivate networks of leaders whose integrity and vision will help renew culture and promote human freedom and flourishing (I got that from the website). One of their quests is to go beyond intellectual titillation.

In the book, under the context of the question, "are there any ethical standards upon which we can build our lives" or stated differently, "is anything truly right or wrong" Dr. Guinness takes the reader through an expository journey of the seven deadly sins and then the contrasting seven virtues of Jesus' Beatitudes.

I'm currently reading chapter three which looks at Anger versus Meekness. Guinness states,

"Anger becomes a deadly sin when the will is directly responsible for the rise and expression of the emotion."

Let's break that sentence up into manageable bite size portions. First of all, emotions are natural and often occur involuntarily. Being disappointed or upset is not a sin. The dilemma is when our will or our actions manifest themselves in an inordinate manner; when our outrage exceeds love for God or for our neighbor.

1st Example: Several months ago, a good friend gave me understanding of a key event that occurs very early in our Bible--Cain kills his brother Abel (see Uncompromising Yet Gracious). As you might recall, two offerings were brought before the Lord. One accepted (Abel's) and one not accepted (Cain's). Cain is naturally upset and I think in some ways experiencing self-pity -- "this should not be happening to me." And then we see God asking Cain to think and then respond correctly. Cain however basically says, "I don't deserve this. I'm angry and I'm not going to take it." And he kills his brother.

2nd Example: Monday's killings at Virginia Tech signify unchecked or uncontrolled anger.

In both examples, we tend to get caught up in figuring out the "why." With Cain, the text is not clear as to why Cain's offering was not acceptable. However, I think it's clear that Cain knew why it wasn't acceptable by the wording of God's questions to him in verse 6 of Genesis 4. But, our lesson is not in the "why." The lesson is our response when anger occurs.

Now, both of the above examples led to killing. But each of us gets angry every day and while it doesn't lead to killing, it can sometimes lead to something destructive and maybe violent. Lately, I've been trying to teach Tyson, my oldest (he's 11) that throughout life things are going to happen to you and occur that you don't like. You will get upset. The most important thing is to respond correctly when you get angry. So, what does that response look like?

Matthew 5:5, says "Blessed are the meek" and Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacekeepers." (NIV)

Guinness writes,

"Both meekness and peacemaking are rooted in an appreciation of the infinite value of human life."

This sounds like "love." Paul summarizes Jesus' teaching in Romans 13:10, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law." (NAS)

Another good friend wrote me an email today and in response to the killings at Virginia Tech put forth,

"God is still love."

My response to anger is not simply to love, but first to submit that anger to the One who is Love.

Meek may rhyme with weak, but actually it stands closer to being strong. The lion that lies next to the lamb must have an emotion of dominance towards its neighbor and yet in submission yields love.

Anger will continue to occur. And just like a roaring lion, we need to continually tame it.