“Since anger has value, giving it up requires a sacrifice.”

A thought by Brant Hansen (2015-04-14) from his book, Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better (p. 141). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Brant says, “Our anger is valuable to us. That’s why we want to hold it, to savor it. It means something. It means we’ve been wronged, we’re in the right, and we’re the victims in an unfair exchange. We want to even out the scales, and one way to do it, at least psychologically, is to stay offended.”

He goes on, “There’s a story in Luke, where an apparently ‘good,’ religious, and rich young man approaches Jesus, wondering what he must do to inherit eternal life. Ultimately, Jesus places a demand on him— sell everything and give to the poor— and we’re told the young man heard that and walked away, sad. I think for many of us who live in this society that is so riven with anger, even addicted to it, Jesus is giving us a similar demand: ‘Give up your anger. Because of what I’ve done for you, give it up, and forgive.’ Sadly, our response is, ‘That’s not fair.’ And we walk away too.”

We are looking back during this month of March at what Jesus paid for us. Brant says, “The cross simultaneously stands as a constant reminder of His willingness to ‘pay the bill,’ and as an indictment on us when we are unwilling to do the same for others.”

He also says, “Jesus is giving us a completely different way to live, and it’s one that sets us free from anger, free from ever-present guilt, free to really love people, free from constant anxiety, and free to get a good night’s sleep.”

So are you willing to sacrifice your anger because of his sacrifice and forgive them?

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