In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus tells us that when we are angry we are subject to judgement, and when we call each other names we are at risk of being subject to the fire of hell. Not all anger is sinful, but when we take our anger and place it in contempt of others, we insult God's creation and thus insult God Himself.

Raca = you idiot
You fool = you moron

Entertaining rage and bitterness allows it to take hold of your life. It overruns us and does not leave room for joy and love. For many people, it can completely demolish their lives. it can be difficult to turn around from such a state, and impossible to do without God.

Lashing out toward others places us on a fast track of isolation, which is our hell. God will always stand on the side of love. But what causes us to insult others? Fear. Pride. Pain. Things only He can take away. As humans, we fail and hurt others. But if we repent, we can be saved.

James talks about the power of the tongue. The tongue has the power to kill. Too often we hear of people who hurt themselves, and sometimes even kill themselves, because of bullies. I joke that my superpower is to make people feel the way I want them to. But it is true, not just of me but of everyone. In my last entry, I wrote about the Eccelsia sermon on words. Cory Monteith's death was a result of lack of good words. Whatever happened in his life, it was never enough. It is my desire that with everyone I encounter I let them know they are enough.

God is perfect, yet He finds it in Himself to forgive. And to love. So why do we think we are better than God, that we are too good to forgive and to love as He does?

Suffering Savior

Much emphasis is put on how much Jesus suffered on the cross (and for good reason). But there is not much attention given to his emotional pain, both on the road to the cross and while he was hanging. The walk to the hill, he had to carry his own cross, while guards whipped him and harassed him. Surely he passed bystanders whom he had taught or healed. Many were probably confused, or hurt, or perhaps even angry. Maybe they thought he had deceived them. Maybe they were upset he didn't fight. When he became too weak to carry his cross, many may have thought about how he had the ower to heal even raise people from the dead, but now he could barely stand. His time on the cross was equally humiliating, as people stood around to watch the spectacle. How hard it must have been to be filled with such love for these people, and realize they had no idea what was happening, to them it was just a show.

Am I willing to humble myself to do the work of God, knowing that the world won't understand, that to them I may seem strange? Do I value their life and their salvation more than I value my name and reputation?

Cain's downfall

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7

Cain's biggest problem was not that he did not present an offering that pleased God, but that he allowed this rejection of his actions to cause him to become downhearted, instead of using it as a wake up call to change his ways. Cain could have repented, and found favor with God. Instead, he let his anger take over. Yet God did not give up on him. Even though Cain turned his back on God, God promised to grant him protection (Genesis 4:15). This is a great demonstration of God's love for all of us, even those who reject Him and refuse to acknowledge who He is.