Let Anger Go

“For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God”
James 1:20

Paul Allen announced the release of a book this past week that focuses in part on his time at Microsoft.  Reportedly, the book states that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and President Steve Ballmer schemed to dilute Allen’s shares at Microsoft over 18 years ago.  Allen says in the book, "I helped start the company and was still an active member of management, though limited by my illness, and now my partner and my colleague were scheming to rip me off," Allen writes in his memoir. "It was mercenary opportunism, plain and simple."

Whether the statement is true or not, the point is that there has to be some long lasting bitterness there, maybe appropriately so.  After over 18 years, the wounds are still very fresh to Allen.  We have all been there, but as Christians we are supernaturally charged to think and act differently.  All of us have been wronged from time to time to where we can harbor intense bitterness and hatred towards another person.  It is especially bitter when it is a fellow believer who in Christ we think has wronged us.  I can remember three people especially in my life whom I felt incredible rage towards, a feeling that I had been completely wronged.  It robbed me of my joy, my effectiveness, making me useless for the kingdom.  It masked deep seated wounds and sin on my own part causing me to focus my rage not internally on my own sin, but externally towards the person who had wronged me.  

The saying, “time heals all wounds” does not work towards bitterness.  In many cases, it seethes over time particularly when things subsequently don’t work out the way we think they should have worked out.  Forgiveness is supernatural.  We could never forgive without the power of Christ’s love in us.  Because He who has forgiven much gives us the ability to forgive others who have wronged us a little by comparison.  I have found that God uses the warts in others to reveal the warts in ourselves.  In every case where I felt wronged, there was a self-revelation of a stinging sin in my own life.  I needed to see “logs in my own eye, while seeing past the specs in my brothers eye” (Matt 7:5). 

Without true forgiveness, we cannot experience true joy.  That is not my opinion; that is what Scripture says.  Satan loves to use the root of bitterness to rob us of our joy.  Col 3:6 says to “put anger aside”.  Col 3:12 says to “put on a heart of forgiveness”.  Note that this attitude occurs regardless of whether the individual who has wronged us asks for forgiveness.  In my case, none of the people asked for forgiveness.  I don’t even think they think they wronged me.  The heart problem is mine and the response is also mine.