You Low-Down Dirty Dog

Second Samuel chapter nine highlights the rags to riches story of Mephibosheth who wondered why King David would ever show favor to a nobody like him from the town of nowhere. Have you ever thought something like that? Why should the King notice me? Why should I receive such kindness from God? Aren’t I a low-down dirty dog?

I’m sure we all felt those self-loathing sentiments. But the truth is, despite who we are—God still loves us! God does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead He extends mercy and grace. It’s an amazing story that's true of everyone who believes!

Being Good and Angry!

Psalm 7:11 says: God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day.

We see in this verse that God gets angry (he “displays his wrath”). We also see that his anger is an everyday occurrence. This is not surprising because there is a lot that we humans do that would make God angry. An alphabetical list of common sins includes: 

• Adultery
• Blasphemy 
• Covetousness
• Dishonesty
• Envy
• Fornication 
• Greed
• Hatred
• Idolatry
• Judging
• Lusting
• Murder 
• Pride
• Resentment
• Stealing
• Unforgiveness
• Vanity
• Wickedness

...and the list could go on and on. But what Psalm 7:11 tells us about God’s anger is that he displays it in a way that is “righteous”. He judges our sins properly—identifying them for what they are—offenses against God and others. Unlike us, God does not ignore or excuse sin. He doesn’t “rename” sin and label them with less offensive terms such as: failures, faults, shortcomings, or mistakes. He calls a spade a spade. Sin is sin.

Notice that on the list of frequent sins, I did not include “anger.” It is clearly not a sin to be angry. In fact, if any of the above sins were committed by someone against you, it would certainly make you angry. But anger—if left unchecked and out-of-control—can lead us to commit some of the sins above. It’s interesting to note that all you have to do is add one letter to the word anger and look out! Danger!

Anger is an emotion that bubbles up within us not unlike lava in a volcano. Scientists who study this, known as “volcanologists” have discovered that magma chambers deep in the earth build up pressure until they reach the surface. The pressure of these chambers are released through “vents” that often result in eruptions of lava, ash and pyroclastic debris. The destructive capacity of these eruptions depends on the amount of pressure that builds up below the surface.

This description of volcanic activity can easily be compared to the increase of anger that takes place as life’s circumstances create stress and pressure within us. If we don’t have a healthy way to “vent” our anger, we will erupt and spew wreckage upon our co-workers, friends and family. It isn’t easy to control our anger, but it is possible.

Acknowledge your anger. Find the root cause. And release it appropriately. God allows for anger to exist so long as it is properly channeled. Pray for God to help you keep your cool. Seek His forgiveness (and others) when you blow up. Above all: Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Don't Worry, Be Happy

It doesn’t seem possible but almost 30 years ago, Bobby McFerrin wrote a catchy tune in which the "instruments" in his a cappella song are entirely overdubbed voice parts and other sounds made by McFerrin whistling, humming and drumming himself. The song is entitled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and you probably know the tune and catchphrase by heart (see the attached YouTube video). It became the first a cappella song to reach #1 on the Billboard charts and won a Grammy Award in 1989 for “Song of the Year.”

Within the song, McFerrin wrote these lyrics:

In every life we have some trouble

But when you worry, you make it double

Don't worry, be happy

'Cause when you're worried, your face will frown

And that will bring everybody down

So don't worry, be happy

Although I did not play this song during the worship service yesterday, the lyrics reflect the words of Jesus when he says in Matthew 6:34: So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Dwelling on worrisome thoughts doubles your troubles. And it affects your facial appearance and negatively impacts your influence on others. Learning to be as worry-free as possible is actually an important testimony to an unbelieving world.

The worst kind of worry is when you say in your heart, “Things are going so good, that something bad is bound to happen.” In other words: “Everything is going so great in my life right now; I'm sure God's getting ready to pull the rug out from beneath me.” This is actually the woeful expression of a lack of faith. If you read between the lines, the Bible says that's how Satan was able to get at Job. He was constantly afraid, constantly worried. He was always thinking, “What if my sons are not obeying the Lord” and he would go make a sacrifice for them. "What if... What if...."  If you're "What if-ing" yourself, you are setting yourself up. 

God says, “I don't want you to worry.” He wants us to be like Him. Do you realize that God never worries about anything? So if you and I are going to be like God, like Jesus Christ, we need to learn not to worry.