Transforming Anger Through God's Presence and Reconciliation

reason so we come to the greatest teacher who ever lived greatest talk ever given and he says the good news is what's insurmountable in this universe is not your problems or what ticks you off it's God and His presence that cannot be defeated and that means you right there in your little life can make this a golden rule day [00:00:17]

anger involves first of all just a a pretty innocent thing which is a rush of energy that comes when my will is frustrated so that I can overcome the obstacle when it's working right it always works towards Justice I for example I don't like key fobs I think they're a dumb idea they're way too expensive if you got to get one replaced [00:01:11]

when I'm angry at a person it very quickly moves to another phase where I will the harm I cease to will the good for the person that I'm angry at and and then I I choose to nurse that anger now what Jesus is doing and we'll follow this over and over there's there's uh six different areas contrast where he says you've heard that it said by what I say to you [00:01:45]

he's moving from uh an understanding of goodness that's based on external Conformity here's the rule I did it I'm okay to uh what's going on inside me so um being angry calling somebody Rocka calling somebody fool there's no particular progression to those kind of things they're just the kind of things that say there's something wrong inside me [00:02:06]

therefore if you're offering your gift at the altar and then remember your brother sister has something against you leave your gift in front of the altar first go and be reconciled to them and then come and offer your gift and in this Jesus just recognizing in the Old Testament God says don't you know I desire Mercy not sacrifice and that relationships with people are what really matters [00:02:57]

Jesus here is not giving uh a new set of laws not saying that you can never go to court with anybody he's saying if you do that don't automatically assume that my goal is to win my goal is that love should win and that I should love you and that I should will your good even if I'm going to court against you [00:03:54]

for Jesus the central element is the human heart and all through the sermon of the mount now when he goes you have heard it said but I say to you he's going to be reflecting on what goodness really Rises or Falls is at the core of you in your heart n here goes on your heart is your attention your present awareness the whole range of what you are personally engaged in at any given moment [00:05:18]

when Jesus's teachings become the enduring Focus for one's attention potentially lasting and positive change begins moral growth requires sustaining a broad enough range of awareness to effectively counteract the intense narrowing of focus that ordinary desires instigate as they AR rise from or pass through a person hey that car cut me off hey I didn't get enough credit for what I just did [00:06:03]

rumination wants your heart and anger resentment is a place where that starts um maybe CS Lewis's greatest novel is called till we have faces and it's based on the myth of cupid and psyche written by psyche's sister who was not beautiful like psyche was and felt ill treated by the gods carried this kind of book of complaints [00:07:36]

the teachings of Jesus now give a new focal point for my heart and a new opportunity a new way to live this last week I had a conversation with somebody where um I didn't know if a conversation that good would ever happen with this person they'd been through some things that were quite difficult and I'd been through some things that were quite difficult [00:10:12]

enough just notice as you're going through the day what's your grieving story today somebody mistreats you when you're driving the car somebody doesn't pay enough attention to you when you're in line waiting for your coffee you have to wait too long and that's kind of irritating um somebody doesn't pay appropriate deference to you in a meeting [00:10:54]

God now it doesn't mean that you should never ever be angry Jesus in the story about the man with a withered hand was was angered we're told when he asked the religious leaders who were there what should I do right now what's the right thing to do they refused to say anything they they believed that their righteousness was based on keeping a rule rather than acting in love [00:11:29]