Hello again!
It has been a little while since I have been able to sit down and write another blog post. Some weeks there just aren’t enough days, and other days there aren’t enough hours. One thing I have discovered is that the more worn down you are and the more tired you have become, the shorter your fuse is when it comes to the small things. I work is customer service and there are times that you must remain absolutely calm even in the face of someone swearing at you or ever blaming you. Inside your head, you are raging at them but outward you have a calm and cool face. However, that anger towards that person still stays bottled up because you can’t just unleash it on the next person you see. 
However there are times that that is exactly what we do. We have been going through the Sermon on the Mount over the last however many Sundays. We split up chapter 5 of Matthew because there are a lot of deep things in there that should be studied. Chapter 6 was also split up because Jesus is taking his time to tell us about righteousness and I didn’t want to rush. One of those topics was anger and that one hit deeply.
If you ask someone in my family they would tell you that I am a pretty calm person. In fact there are times that I get in trouble for that because to some people it appears as if I am just letting things slide. When in actuality I am trying to pick the words I want say carefully. At one of my last jobs they had a saying in their training, “When you are at your angriest, that is when you are at your dumbest.” I find it very important to pick my words carefully because I do not want to way something I can’t take back, and I sure do not want to have to come back and apologize! I mean who would!? Studies show when we are angry, the part associated with emotional processing becomes more active and the part of the brain that deals with high level cognitive function will become less active. What this means is that when we are angry, the rational part of our brain takes a back seat while the more emotional part takes the lead. This can lead to us saying or doing something that we will regret. James 1:19 puts this beautifully when we are told to, “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” These are very wise words when we look at the world around us. Incidents of road rage have dramatically increased, in an article I read, (https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/road-rage-statistics/#statistics-2021) they stated that in 2006 there were 80 fatal car accidents due to road rage and by 2015 there were 467 fatal accidents. That’s an increase of 500%! That isn’t taking into account the accidents of 2025.
I watch all of the major championship games when it come to professional sports but I struggle to enjoy them. In my head I wonder what spouse or children will be affected by the loss of a sports team. Especially if there was betting involved. I cheer for the teams but in my head I wonder “What happens after the whistle blows?” Anger permeates everything and it seems to impact us at every level. God knew what would impact us and we see it time and again in the Bible. Moses was angry with the Israelites for complaining when he struck the rock and caused the water to come from it. Cain was angry with his brother when he struck him and killed him, and Jonah was angry with God because he was expecting the Ninevites to be wiped off the face of the Earth, only to have them repent and be spared. Anger is not new and it never was.
Anger is mentioned in the Bible about 500 times. Some of these times the topic was righteous anger and other times it is talking about how anger affects us. We live in a world where anger can impact everything around us. In a moment of fury we can make a poor decision and it could change our lives for ever. I don’t think it is any coincidence that the fruit of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). 
Both patience and self-control can be impacted by anger and we need to be sure we are focusing on these fruit. I’d like to leave you with this, we must always take the time to think before we act. We are not able to take back the actions that we do and the words that we say. Our words can cut to the bone and they will be felt by the people we speak them to. Whether that person is the server at your favorite restaurant, your own family members, or even your pastor. We must deal in mercy and grace and “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Be blessed and know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Judd