As I sit here in front of my laptop screen trying to put down the sudden anger that came to me due to a silly Facebook commit, I'm finding the lessons of staying out of other people's dreams helpful.
When anger strikes and sometimes at odd moments for odd reasons, we have to realize that we have the control, anger doesn't. It is rare that I get angry any more. There are too many things that would try to rile me up and I've learned that in actuality there are no reasons for anger.
Anger is an emotion lead by the devilish temptations of a personal sense of self. It is a feeling that others are stepping on our 'toes'; a warmonger trying to create problems between people or societies. It is an emotion that I do not wish to play party to, a loss of control of humility. Anger is a loss of personal control, a loss of graciousness.
Anger blinds people and creates factions. Anger causes long term disputes. Anger brings with it damage of violence or words that cannot be taken back.
Anger misrepresents us, showing our animality, ugliness, gracelessness, uncontrolled self-centeredness. It doesn't bring to the table of communication arbitration, listening, open mindedness. Anger closes the eyes and ears to another's side and only makes us feel like our side is the only side.
Anger's lingering effects is resentment, hurt feelings, loss of friendships, family, and relationships. Anger doesn't bring us the reward of gain but instead the outcome of loss.
Anger is destructive not constructive. Anger tears down, abuses, removes. It doesn't build up, protect, give us anything productive or constructive.
We are told in The Holy Bible, the King James Version, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."1
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder and discoverer of Christian Science, states, "There is immense wisdom in the old proverb, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty." Hannah More said, 'If I wished to punish my enemy, I should make him hate somebody.'"2
To handle anger, by a slow methodical process or a quick denial of anger's claims that there is something worthy to lose control over, keeps us above the temptations of the devil's attempts to use and abuse us. It saves us from regret! It protects us from backlash and harm. It allows us to stay mentally and physically in control of our own environment. It gives to us a sense of God's ever- present Peace and Love. It allows us to be better examples of the Christ.
We can handle situations that comes to us in the knowledge that what comes from God is Good, giving, happy, calm, peaceful. What comes from the liar, the tempter, is agitating, ruffling, upsetting, distracting. The Good God gives to us is progressive and soothing. The temptations of evil is destructive and irritating.
Let us see that anger isn't our normal state of being. Let us see that anger isn't a natural part of us as the children of God. Let us see that anger is a temptation as any other emotion that takes us away from joyfulness and grace.
Let us pray that we always stay above all the temptations of the devil and not ever be a part of its dismal darkness.
For we are told, "rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil."3
By turning to this gracious and merciful God of great kindness He will change our thoughts from the evil to His ever-present blessings of Good.
Thank you God, I feel much better under Your loving control.
Gentle hugs
1 King James Version of The Holy Bible Proverbs 16 vs. 32
2 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy pg 223 lines 25-28
3 King James Version of The Holy Bible Joel 2 vs. 13
Showing posts with label anger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anger. Show all posts
Friday, June 7, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Worth, Value, is based on expression not possession
Do we ever feel that our value,
self-worth seems very much lacking? Do we ever feel worthless? Then what are we
basing our worth on? Is it human success, possessions, bank accounts, number of
friends, our social calendar? Or are we seeing a higher sense of worth and
value?
In looking up the word “Worth” the definition that jumped out at me was “Value; that quality of a thing which renders it useful, or which will produce an equivalent good in some other thing.”
In looking at this I loved the idea that worth and value are based upon qualities that render themselves as useful! The only qualities that we know that does this are spiritual qualities from God. God’s qualities such as goodness, tenderness, compassion, love, gentleness, forgiveness, consideration, thoughtfulness all can be rendered as very useful in our day to day experience. They ‘produce an equivalent of good in other things.’ These qualities bring out the good we express with others and how we see ourselves. The more we use these qualities by expressing them the more value we can see about ourselves and others!
In studying a Proverb we read, “The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.”1
To me this helps begin the process of today’s work…’the tongue of the ‘just’ is as choice silver’.
This tongue can not only be the one we use towards others outwardly while speaking. But it also can be used against ourselves and others inwardly in our thinking. How important if we want to be just and as ‘choice sliver’ worthwhile and valuable, that this inward tongue be gracious, loving, kind, forgiving and not egotistical, comparing, competitive! How important it is for us to feel valuable and then to think and speak what is spiritually worthy.
The above quote from Proverbs includes: “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”2
The qualities God renders as useful to us are never based upon material things, people, places, jobs. These all come and go. What He counts as worthy, worthwhile, are the qualities He created for each of us to express and entertain. Qualities such as kindness, patience, grace have nothing to do with possessions or human success. He sees our value and worth as spiritual. If we are to feel and see our own worth as very valuable we must base our worth on what God has created us to be.
If we do not feel very valuable, then what are we weighing in the balances of our own self-worth? What are we putting into our day’s activities that would register a value? Is the higher percentage of our actions and thoughts based upon ill-will, envy, anger, resentment, competition, stepping on our fellow man to gain some better position, self-justification? Or are our thoughts of a sweeter nature, such as being and expressing goodness, happiness for others, patience, understanding, forgiveness? Is this poly-annaism? NO! It is seeing that our worthless feelings or our feeling of value is based upon our actions towards others and our thoughts about ourselves.
“All that is worth reckoning is what we do, and the best of everything is not too good, but is economy and riches.”3
“Happiness consists in being and doing good; only what God gives, and what we give ourselves and others through His tenure, confers happiness; conscious worth satisfies the hungry heart, and nothing else can.”4
When we are putting our own self-worth in the scales and balances of this thought, ‘happiness consists in being and doing good’ then the ‘qualities rendered as useful’ is based upon sharing happiness and giving to ourselves and others ‘His tenure’.
Are we valuing ourselves based upon things we have or the qualities we are expressing? Are we expressing love or hatred, resentment, anger, hurt feelings or patience, understanding, forgiveness? The qualities that we are rendering if they are to be ‘useful’ have to be good. This makes us feel happy and worth a lot more.
Let us make sure that our self-worth is based upon the righteousness of God’s Goodness and that we express and embrace this Love. For the Proverbs continues and ends with, “The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.”5
Our worth is spiritual made up of the nature and qualities of God and His supreme righteousness, the qualities He created us to express. This is true worth.
Gentle hugs
1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Proverbs 10 vs. 20
2 ibid Proverbs 10 vss. 21, 22
3 Miscellany Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 203 line 10
4 Message to The First Church of Christ, Scientists, 1902 by Mary Baker Eddy page 17 line 24
5 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Proverbs 10 vss. 28-32
In looking up the word “Worth” the definition that jumped out at me was “Value; that quality of a thing which renders it useful, or which will produce an equivalent good in some other thing.”
In looking at this I loved the idea that worth and value are based upon qualities that render themselves as useful! The only qualities that we know that does this are spiritual qualities from God. God’s qualities such as goodness, tenderness, compassion, love, gentleness, forgiveness, consideration, thoughtfulness all can be rendered as very useful in our day to day experience. They ‘produce an equivalent of good in other things.’ These qualities bring out the good we express with others and how we see ourselves. The more we use these qualities by expressing them the more value we can see about ourselves and others!
In studying a Proverb we read, “The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.”1
To me this helps begin the process of today’s work…’the tongue of the ‘just’ is as choice silver’.
This tongue can not only be the one we use towards others outwardly while speaking. But it also can be used against ourselves and others inwardly in our thinking. How important if we want to be just and as ‘choice sliver’ worthwhile and valuable, that this inward tongue be gracious, loving, kind, forgiving and not egotistical, comparing, competitive! How important it is for us to feel valuable and then to think and speak what is spiritually worthy.
The above quote from Proverbs includes: “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”2
The qualities God renders as useful to us are never based upon material things, people, places, jobs. These all come and go. What He counts as worthy, worthwhile, are the qualities He created for each of us to express and entertain. Qualities such as kindness, patience, grace have nothing to do with possessions or human success. He sees our value and worth as spiritual. If we are to feel and see our own worth as very valuable we must base our worth on what God has created us to be.
If we do not feel very valuable, then what are we weighing in the balances of our own self-worth? What are we putting into our day’s activities that would register a value? Is the higher percentage of our actions and thoughts based upon ill-will, envy, anger, resentment, competition, stepping on our fellow man to gain some better position, self-justification? Or are our thoughts of a sweeter nature, such as being and expressing goodness, happiness for others, patience, understanding, forgiveness? Is this poly-annaism? NO! It is seeing that our worthless feelings or our feeling of value is based upon our actions towards others and our thoughts about ourselves.
“All that is worth reckoning is what we do, and the best of everything is not too good, but is economy and riches.”3
“Happiness consists in being and doing good; only what God gives, and what we give ourselves and others through His tenure, confers happiness; conscious worth satisfies the hungry heart, and nothing else can.”4
When we are putting our own self-worth in the scales and balances of this thought, ‘happiness consists in being and doing good’ then the ‘qualities rendered as useful’ is based upon sharing happiness and giving to ourselves and others ‘His tenure’.
Are we valuing ourselves based upon things we have or the qualities we are expressing? Are we expressing love or hatred, resentment, anger, hurt feelings or patience, understanding, forgiveness? The qualities that we are rendering if they are to be ‘useful’ have to be good. This makes us feel happy and worth a lot more.
Let us make sure that our self-worth is based upon the righteousness of God’s Goodness and that we express and embrace this Love. For the Proverbs continues and ends with, “The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.”5
Our worth is spiritual made up of the nature and qualities of God and His supreme righteousness, the qualities He created us to express. This is true worth.
Gentle hugs
1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Proverbs 10 vs. 20
2 ibid Proverbs 10 vss. 21, 22
3 Miscellany Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 203 line 10
4 Message to The First Church of Christ, Scientists, 1902 by Mary Baker Eddy page 17 line 24
5 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Proverbs 10 vss. 28-32
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