Managing Anger By Faith

Now that we have defined faith and come to understand that time, life and everything else was created by the Word of God, we take a look at some of the faith-filled men and women who exercised their faith in their daily lives. And as we do, we ask ourselves how we may emulate them and their lives.

The first to step before us is Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, the first humans on planet earth. His name means breath. We're not told why his parents named him Abel. We hear nothing about his childhood or how he came to be a shepherd. We only learn that in the course of time he and his brother Cain both brought offerings to the LORD. Cain was a farmer, a worker of the ground, so what he brought was an offering of the fruit of the ground. No mention is made of what it was or of how they made this offering. A thousand questions hover around those statements. Yet that is not the point. The point is that

"for Cain and his offering the LORD had no regard." —Gen. 4:5 ESV

To have regard is to pay attention, to look upon a person favorably. In this case, it means that the LORD looked into Cain's heart. The LORD did not see faith there. Already, in this very early stage of mankind's development we find a man who did not put his trust in the LORD and His promises. Already we find a man who went through the motions, but meant nothing by them.

It is also interesting to note that the LORD spoke directly to Cain. Did the LORD speak as He did to Cain's parents in the Garden? We're not told whether it was Adam through whom the LORD spoke or whether this was a direct communication. We're not told about other sons and daughters of Adam and Eve until after Cain murders his brother. Only then do we read that . . .

Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." - Gen 4:25 ESV

Undoubtedly there are many events and many other children of the first couple that are left out of this history. And there were many, many years for having many, many children, etc. All we read is

The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. - Gen 5:4-5 ESV 

The emphasis in Hebrews 11 is upon faith in this small nuclear family. One brother walked in faith. The older did not. Cain did not offer his praise and worship in faith. Abel did. Instead of faith Cain hated his brother. He burned with anger and the anger captured and controlled his heart in the same way that a hungry beast hunts down its prey and seizes it. He could not manage or control it in spite of the LORD's warning.

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." - Gen 4:7 ESV 

In our day we hear much about "anger management." Some make their living trying to teach others how to do just that.  I even found an anger management brochure on the American Psychological Association website. They say that

Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected. This happens when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. The aim is to inhibit or suppress your anger and convert it into more constructive behavior. The danger in this type of response is that if it isn't allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward—on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression.

Good advice. The psalms say essentially the same.

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. - Psa 37:8 ESV

HOWEVER ! the psalms speak in the context of faith. They do not assume that anger can be controlled easily or always. Instead David writes,

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. - Psa 37:1-8 ESV

 This is how the man of faith acts. He turns his anger over to the LORD and focuses upon Him. He may be angry because of what has happened and the injustice of it all, but he commits his way and his life to the LORD and puts his trust in Him. He believes that the LORD will act to bring forth righteousness even though at the moment he cannot see how.

We all have much to learn about anger, hate and how to manage our feelings. The Word of God teaches us to begin with forgiveness even as we are forgiven in Christ. Then focus and meditate upon God's Word and find peace.

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. - Psa 55:22 ESV

Another Look At Capital Punishment

Capital punishment—the very phrase spells controversy. It points to a crime pronounced worthy of death. Civil laws in the various states and by the Federal government allow the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes:

• Murder
• Treason
• Aggravated kidnapping
• Drug trafficking
• Aircraft hijacking
• Placing a bomb near a bus terminal
• Espionage
• Aggravated assault by incarcerated, persistent felons or murderers
• Killing or attempts to kill any officer, juror or witness in cases involving a continuing criminal enterprise
• Sexual battery or attempted battery with injury to a child under 12
• Rape of a child less than 10 (some laws say 12, others 14)
• Second conviction for sexual intercourse without consent accompanied by serious bodily injury

The death penalty in the United States is used almost exclusively for the crime of murder. Although state and federal statutes contain various capital crimes other than those involving the death of the victim, only two people were on death row for a non-murder offense (Patrick Kennedy and Richard Davis in Louisiana) when the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this issue in 2008. No one has been executed for such a crime since the death penalty was re-instated in 1976. In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, held that the death penalty for the rape of an adult was "grossly disproportionate" and an "excessive punishment," and hence was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. The Court looked at the relatively few states that allowed the death penalty for rape and the few death sentences that had been handed down.  

Some states passed new laws allowing the death penalty for the rape of a child. In 2007, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Patrick Kennedy for the rape of his step-daughter, STATE OF LOUISIANA v. PATRICK KENNEDY (No. 05-KA-1981, May 22, 2007). Kennedy was convicted in 2003. However, Louisiana's law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 2008. See Kennedy v. Louisiana for more information. This decision also held that the death penalty would be disproportionate for any offense against an individual that did not involve death of the victim.

So far the United States. What about the Bible and Jewish civil laws in the days of the New Testament? We come across the following in John 8.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" - Jhn 8:2-5 ESV

What laws were those? And why? Here's what we read in the Old Testament about crimes deserving the death penalty:

• Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. 

• Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. - Lev 24:16-17 ESV 

• For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

• If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  

• If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 

• If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 

• If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 

• If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 

• If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. - Lev 20:9-16 ESV

What kind of laws were those? Death for cursing your parents? Death for adultery? Death for homosexuality? Death for perverted sex with an animal? Death for blasphemy? We need to take a serious look at these laws and ask ourselves as Christians how to view them. What, if anything, does the Holy Spirit teach us in our day?

More on this next time.

October Baby - Some Survive Abortion

My wife and I are planning to see the new movie OCTOBER BABY. It is the story of 19-year-old Hannah, who finds out she is adopted and is the survivor of an attempted abortion. She goes on a road trip to find answers, locate her birth mother and, ultimately, discover how powerful forgiveness can be. An increasing number of Christian based movies are showing up these days. It seems that Hollywood has re-discovered the Christian world and finds that we will pay to see movies that reflect our morality.

Back in January I clipped the following article about a situation similar to the one upon which the movie is based: Mother of 'Miracle Baby' Who Survived Abortion Credits God's Intervention, Christian News. This is the true story about Tina Torry, whose baby survived an abortion, and who now speaks about how "divine intervention" saved her daughter's life.

According to the most recent statistics from the Guttmacher Institute (AGI), about 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S. in 2008. However, this number is down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002. 

AGI Facts on Induced Abortion in the United State

• Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and about four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion. Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 67% among blacks and 53% among Hispanics are unintended.

• In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. However, between 2005 and 2008, the long-term decline in abortions stalled. 

• From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions occurred. Each year, two percent of women aged 15–44 have an abortion. Half have had at least one previous abortion

• Worldwide, about 115,000 babies are aborted every day, the AGI reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports:

• In 2008, 825,564 legal induced abortions were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. This represents essentially no change from the number of abortions reported in 2007. The abortion rate for 2008 was 16.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years. This also is unchanged from 2007. The abortion ratio was 234 abortions per 1,000 live births in 2008. This is a 1% increase from 2007.

• During 1999–2008, the reported abortion numbers, rates, and ratios decreased 3%, 4%, and 10%, respectively. 

It remains deeply troubling to the majority of us Christians that the murder of these millions of helpless victims in the U.S. is sanctioned by the Supreme Court and supported by the medical profession. The crimes of Nazi Germany's Third Reich pale by comparison.