overcoming anger
I want to share today about an experience over break where God had worked in my life.
I played a long basketball game this afternoon with my roommates. We play 2-3 times a week at UCLA and we still meet up at home to play. We’ve played countless games together but today’s game was different. We played a difficult team today and our frustration destroyed our teamwork. There even came a point where halfway through, we all stopped playing. I happened to be playing the worst of us that game and after a lot of yelling and finger pointing, a lot of blame went to my side. Frustration turned into anger and this was the first time we had a basketball game end like this. I left the basketball court without saying anything to them. I told myself I wouldn’t bother playing with them again for a long time.
Anger is one of the seven cardinal sins that plagues mankind and I knew it was wrong for me to be so angry at people I cared about. Despite all the anger, I managed to lift it all up to God and ask for His help to overcome my anger before I would sin against him any further. Immediately after praying, I felt his grace come upon me and this helped me only slightly. I also heard the voice of the enemy in the back of my mind telling me that my prayers remained unheard and that man is destined to fall into sin. I drove away the thoughts remembering that God’s strength is enough and much greater and my own. And thirty minutes later…
I was sitting in church still brooding over what had happened earlier this afternoon. After the gospel reading at my church, a priest gives a homily (message) for the entire congregation. My favorite priest back home (Father Dennis) was presiding over mass this Sunday but instead of a homily from him we had a guest speaker from another church instead. He started to walk to the altar and right then I commented to my mom that I wished Father Dennis had spoken for us instead.
And two seconds later, it all hit me: the visiting priest chose to speak today about anger.
In 15 years of attending mass, this was the first or second sermon I had ever heard about just ‘anger’. I couldn’t believe it. God was speaking to me through this man and answering my prayers. A lot of the insight in this post is paraphrased from his sermon. It is human to be angry and that alone is not a sin, but it’s what we choose to do with our anger that makes us sinful. I was ready to tell my roommates off and let them know how much I hate playing basketball with them. Which isn’t true at all, I was just hurt and angry over everything and blinded by the enemy. One thing the priest mentioned was that as Christians it is important to manage your anger and not let it lead you to sin. It is one of the greatest weapons of the enemy and I can clearly see why.
All year, I have been praying for my roommates to come to Christ. How am I ever helping them on their journey by telling them off for something as useless as a basketball game? Is it better to be ‘right’ and miserable, or admit your wrongdoings and be happy? The real battle at stake here is salvation. I want my roommates to have a relationship with Christ and it was almost hindered by sin and the work of Satan in the back of my mind. But fortunately, God revealed himself to me and helped me make the right choice. I love my roommates like brothers and I hated to be angry at them. It was wrong to do so and instead of expecting an apology God helped me let my anger go and reach out to them first. Finally, God told me to spread the good news…which I made sure to do so starting here.
This post is so long, but for all of those who want a quick final summary:
I want to encourage you all today to lift up whatever troubles you may have to the Lord in prayer. Your prayers will be answered and remember, his strength is always enough. Just days before, I prayed that God would make himself more real to me. After a disappointing finals week and missing my church group, I felt that I was losing faith because I had forgotten how great God’s glory is and how he still reigns today. Today, God answered my prayers and showed me how I need to live. He destroyed Satan’s influence in the back of my mind and all of his lies. I will surely fall again in time but I am not worried because I know Christ my savior watches over me. I am truly blessed to have this relationship with Him and I pray that He will make himself known to all of you.
And how did the situation with my roommates end? We met up later for some Pho and to grab some cereal boxes at Ralphs just like old times. Today God helped me preserve two of my closest friendships and gain wisdom I will need as a young adult while revealing himself to me and answering my prayers.
And finally:
- I’ve played hundreds of games with my roommates, and this was the only one that ended this badly.
- I’m almost never angry. Those who know me well can attest to this.
- The guest priest was from another church and one that I would probably never hear again.
- In fifteen years, this is the only sermon I can remember about anger.
- Three days ago, I prayed for God to appear more in my life.
- Yesterday, I prayed for my roommates to come closer to Christ and overcome obstacles in their lives.
- Fifteen hours ago, I prayed to God to release my anger and renew my focus.
Could this just be coincidence? If you connect the dots, it’s hard to believe so. God is good. I hope this post helped bring some of you closer in your journey. Have a wonderful spring break all!
-Anthony
