Unprofitable Anger

Ollie Horne, a friend and co-worker in ministry, graduated to heaven this past week after a courageous battle against cancer. He was a true blessing to everyone who came in contact with him. His life caption, the last few years was, ‘Watch me live’…and live he did.

The service was a great celebration of the life of a mighty man of God. One by one, the speakers rose and told of the impact Ollie had on them and those around him. He was a man that loved his wife, loved his children and loved people just like Jesus told us to do. The impact of how he lived his life at home, work (he was a flight attendant for Delta airlines) and through his ministry was evident during the service and will continue through the many people who’s lives he touched.

One speaker told of the unique gift of perspective Ollie had in life. He saw and was able to understand and emphasize the important things in life while de-emphasizing the un-important. That ability allowed Ollie to look past all of the garbage in life to love people right where they were in whatever situation he found himself in. One fellow flight attendant wrote on Ollie’s Facebook page that he was possibly the happiest person she has ever known.

Imagine that legacy, a man who lived life to the fullest, loved people as deeply as Jesus and was seen as the happiest person some had ever known. Even in the darkest hours of his battle with cancer, he was still able joke around with his family and friends.

Life is all about perspective, regardless of where you find yourself today, take a moment to stop and reflect on your life. Do you have the right mix of living and loving like Christ in our lives, or do you need to work on a few things?

Blessings

Unprofitable Anger
by Os Hillman

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” – Ecclesiastes 7:9

Every day of our lives we are placed in situations that engage us with other people, whether it is in the office, our homes, or in public places. Do you recall the last time someone cut you off in traffic, or you were forced to wait in line because someone up front got held up? Perhaps your employer did something that was downright unfair. Anger can result from many circumstances.

A friend once told me that anger is like warning lights on the front of your car dashboard. They signal that there is something going on under the hood, and we should take a look to examine the source of the problem. Anger can be traced to a few sources. First, when we lose control of a circumstance that we have placed certain expectations on and those expectations do not result in our desired outcome, we are tempted to get angry. The source of this type of anger is both fear and protection of personal rights. You see, when we believe we have a right to something, we have not given the Lord permission to allow an outcome different from what we want. If an outcome is different from our expectations, this may stimulate fear.

For instance, if a vendor failed to deliver an important job on time due to something out of his control, you may respond out of anger. Please know that the source of your anger is the fear of what might happen to you or what this might say about your abilities to manage a project. You no longer are in control of the circumstance and this creates fear in you.

The next time you get angry ask the Lord what is the source of that anger? Did the Lord allow that failure to let you see what is “under your hood”? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind (see 2 Tim. 1:7). Give up your rights to expectations that God never gave you. You will find a new freedom in Christ you never knew you could have.