No matter how grave the injustice perpetrated against us is, it will not measure up to all Christ has already forgiven us for. Going even deeper than that however, God does not give us this maxim just because it is just but because it is what is best for us in the end. I would wager that 90% of the time we are angry with someone that they either do not know or it or could care less about it. We are allowing this person or offense to rent space in our mind and heart for free. In this age when we are seeing people shooting one another over texting in a movie theater or because their car stereo is too loud, we must realize that anger is also a root that must be dug up so we can be rid of it. Anger is like a poison we drink while we wait for the other person to die.
"You have heard that our ancestors were told, "You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. - Matthew 5: 21-22 (NLT)
In a world that only deals with the symptoms, Jesus dealt with the root of the problem. You do not get to the point of shooting someone without having uncontrolled anger to begin with. Secondly, verse eight says to get rid of rage. Now, rage may sound similar but if we look at the King James Version, this word is actually wrath. Wrath is often an outcome of anger. Wrath is the desire to seek retribution for the perceived wrong we sense having been visited upon us. Who has not secretly desired to get even with someone? It is part of our flesh nature. Entire movie genres have made fortunes telling stories of revenge and it is usually those seeking revenge that are made out to be heroes. God however does not think the way the world does and we are supposed to be transformed into His image daily. Here is the model He has given us:
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the Lord . Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed t hem. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads." Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. - Romans 12: 19-21 (NLT)
A difficult lesson indeed but one that will lead us more towards Christ and away from this world beloved. Just like when the three Hebrew boys were facing the fiery furnace they simply said to the king - "we do not have to defend ourselves in this matter!" God sees all and hears all. I know how difficult it is to not want to respond in kind to the unkind or ill informed but remember that God will hold us all to account for every careless word spoken, as well as our deeds.
Thirdly in verse eight we are to get rid of malicious behavior. Now we are getting to the deep roots of who we are. Simply put, malice is the desire to hurt someone else. It does not have to be physically hurting someone else either as we all know that words often hurt far more than bruises. You would think this is a no brainer but how many people do we know who have been hurt in ministry? Hurt by church leadership? Hurt by other Christians? I know plenty who only through the comfort of the saving grace of Jesus Christ were able to survive their hurt. I still know people who refuse to go to an organized church due to hurts suffered at the hands of those who were supposed to love them:
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." - John 13: 34-35 (NLT)
Yet what does the world see when they peer into our church doors? We are supposed to love each other. Not just the ones that are easy to love. Not just the ones that look like us or sound like us. Not just the ones that we deem as being nice. The world is malicious by nature. The world lashes out to hurt people for no reason. The church is supposed to be different beloved. It is supposed to be a sanctuary in reality not just name. It is supposed to be a place that people can feel safe. This is another reason why it is imperative that we be different. That we stop this silly belief that we need to be relevant to a malicious culture. We do not need to be relevant - we need to be different.
The fourth thing we need to rid ourselves of is slander. The dictionary defines slander as a malicious, false and defamatory statement or report about someone. Gossip tears down too many churches and ministries today. Gossiping Christians love to use the facade of prayer to further their gossip but what we must realize today is that it is the listener that must put a stop to the spirit of gossip and slander in the church. The gossiper will have no outlet if everyone would just politely decline to be a willing listener. Please realize however that correct criticism is not slander. There has to be an element of malice - which means an intent to hurt someone. There must be falseness to the report and there must be something that is defaming in nature - or designed to ruin someone's reputation. The Bible makes it clear that we are our brother's keeper.