Babyish

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. - Colossians 3: 12-14

Wrap me in Huggies and fill me with Gerber. I think I’m somewhat of a baby.

Its sad that I know how few people would argue with this.

And it has to do with my anger. I don’t get my way and I get very angry. Sometimes I throw visible and invisible tantrums. Yes, babyish. (Lane household, please stop looking at me that way.)

I think this speaks into the way many of us wrestle with anger. I believe that it can often be attributed to us not getting what we want.

I mean it. Check this out.

Take whatever it is that has made you angry, and ask yourself if you got what you want. Not meaning whether or not you gained something... but like this: Did things happen the way you think they should have happened, or did whatever scenario go down the way you’d expect or want? When we’re angry, usually, the answer is no. For instance:

• The weatherman on TV that you don’t think should be the weather anchor because he doesn’t seem to really know anything and he’s rarely right. (And he looks like a Ken doll.)

• The person this morning... that one on the road like Betty White wearing a straightjacket driving an Amish buggy... ignoring the fact that you were in a real hurry.

• That immense pressure from work. Or home. Or family or friends.

• The family member who smells like cheese and always wants to talk to you and just you and won’t let you a.) get away from the appetizer line or b.) get a word in edgewise.

• The loved one who betrayed you.

• Tragedies. All of them.

• The person behind the counter who treated you as an interruption to their day, and still charged you more than you think you should have been. After all, its just a bag of prunes.

• The parent who raised you with the hammers of judgment and criticism, thereby breaking your heart and the belief that you might be worth something... into a million little pieces.

In all of these scenarios, we did not get what we wanted.

People didn’t do what we wanted them to do.

Situations didn’t work out the way we wanted them to work out.

The world did not act the way we think it should.

Whether the world, the person, the situation was right in a universal sense or not, whether we were attached to something or not.... everything is off, and anger rolls like the tide.

(Literally, as I write this, a local business owner that I am working with didn’t do what I wanted him to do, and now I’m angry. Hilarious. Sort of. I mean its comical the irony in this.)

And as Brian said on Sunday, anger in and of itself is not a bad thing. It is an emotion... a characteristic to being human. As normal as laughter.

But sometimes I don’t keep my anger in perspective, and about as often, I’ll neglect to give the reigns of my anger over to God.

So I begin to get baby-ish. Maybe its a big tantrum... maybe in public or maybe online. Maybe its quieter, just as dangerous and more hidden. Either way... somehow, this unchecked anger begins affecting me.

Thoughts.

Attitudes.

Mind.

Heart.

It doesn’t want to leave room for anything else in these places.

If anger is left unchecked, it leaves no room for things like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience... and my reactions, whether visible or unseen... will not marked by any of these fruits of God’s love. (Great... now I’m thinking about the business owner that made me angry.)

I mean, here is the question: am I going to let my anger control me? Am I going to give the reins of my thoughts and attitudes and life over to anger, or am I going to hand the reins over to God? Am I going to ask His Spirit to fill me and speak into my anger, that it might not be unchecked, and that it might be kept in His perspective?

Yes, this is harder than just being a react-or. Trust me. I’d prefer to just react to everything in anger. It keeps me safe; you can’t get to me if I’m angry and I keep everyone else in my head as wrong. But boy that sounds babyish. I know. I’m good at this. Ugh. Anger makes me angry.

So this week, when I don’t get my way, I will give the reins of my anger to God.

I will ask Him for perspective.

I’ll make room for compassion in my heart, and kindness in my mind and attitudes.

I will ask God to wrap up all things in love.

I’m going to drop the Huggies and get past my Gerber.

I will be less babyish.

Won’t my wife and kids be thankful.

(Okay fine. maybe that business owner too.)