19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
God has called us to walk in love and to exude His peace and joy. It's a world that can be frustrating on so many fronts. There are those who do not appreciate our faith perspective and will even be hostile toward us because of our walk with the Lord. Jesus told His disciples in John 16 that we would encounter tribulation in this world, but to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. We are called to be people who are so connected to Christ that we reflect His character in our dealings with people. When we encounter those who are angry, we can respond in peace, and we have to guard against allowing anger to have a foothold in our lives.
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In Colossians 4, there is an admonition about the way that we behave toward other people:
5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
There was a incident at New York's La Guardia Airport the Tuesday before Christmas which resulted in a man being escorted off the plane, according to a story on the New York Post website.
The man was reportedly waiting to board a plane to Dallas when a cheerful gate agent began welcoming passengers with the phrase, "Merry Christmas."
The grumpy passenger, who appeared to be traveling alone, barked at the woman, “You shouldn’t say that because not everyone celebrates Christmas.”
The agent replied, “Well, what should I say then?”
“Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ ” the man shouted before brushing past her.
Once on the plane, he was warmly greeted by a flight attendant who also wished him a “merry Christmas," which led to him lecturing the attendants and pilot about the use of that phrase. Even though the crew tried to calm him down, he didn't back off and was eventually escorted off the plane as onlookers burst into cheers and applause.
Why so angry - over...Christmas? Who knows what worldview the man on the plane holds - he may have a predisposition toward Christmas due to some personal pain centered around the holiday or it may be something else.
But, it is astounding that in our culture, there are people who get really worked up over people expressing their convictions to the extent that they want them to just be quiet.
I think actor Kevin Sorbo is on to something. You know, he played an atheist professor in the movie, God's Not Dead. A story on the Christian Today website reports on an interview in which Sorbo questioned why some atheists are offended by Christian symbols that they do not believe in.
He told Access Hollywood Live, "It's funny how they can get nativity scenes pulled down because they say it offends them but they're offended by something they don't believe in."
Sorbo added, regarding angry atheists that he has seen on TV, "I see the anger of these (atheist) guys on TV and it's like 'Wow, how do you get so angry at something you don't believe in?'"
Well, he has a point - and it presents a challenge for believers in Christ. When we encounter people who are angry at us or exhibit hostility toward us just because we are Christians, we have to be careful that we do not respond in kind. Sure, it's frustrating when people reject our faith perspective and seek to restrict our viewpoints from being shared, but we have to be careful that we don't engage in "shouting matches," figuratively or digitally and lose our ability to reach people with the love of Christ. Sure, possess strong convictions, be prepared to defend our faith, but do so in a manner that is winning rather than warring. Christian apologist Greg Koukl speaks of acting with diplomacy rather than "D-Day" regarding those who do not accept our convictions.
And, this story can be a reminder to us to not assume an angry posture. We should be known by the love that we demonstrate and the joy that we exude, so that when people see us, they are drawn to the Jesus inside of us. If we are angry and frustrated - and that could occur due to a myriad of stimuli - we reflect to the world a lack of dependence on God and abiding in Christ.
It's a messy world, and there are people who do not know Christ who want us as Christians to just go away and take our symbols and expressions of His existence with us. That won't happen, and we have to be careful that we are not intimidated into silence or that we are provoked to insolence, which could repel the very people whom we are called to win.
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