Fire-Starter or Harmony-Maker?

How often have we been told that to keep things all bottled up will cause us to explode eventually.  All that anger and frustration will just bubble over and burn an acidic route out of your mouth and heart and into your circumstances. 

To some extent I agree.  I do not believe we should harbor resentments and keep everything bottled up inside.  I do believe that we need to sometimes talk to someone trustworthy, someone who would counsel us and guide us with godly wisdom.  And, if there is not that someone, or you do not know who to trust, you can speak to God about it.  David spoke to God a whole lot!  One thing I am realizing though, the Word does not say "Let it all out!"  No, the Word says, "Let it all go!"

Colossians 3 vs 8 - 9:  (8) But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  (9) Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.

Paul tells us to put these things off, get rid of them, not let it all spill out of your heart.  He also then tells us to replace these vices with new ways:

Colossians 3 vs 12 - 14:  (12) Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  (14) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

God wants us to let go the poisonous stuff that harms our hearts and souls, and those around us as that all overflows out of us and replace it with Colossians 3 vs 10:  And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.  He wants us to replace those ugly characteristics with those that are of the Creator, or Jesus, our Lord and Savior. 

How do you do that?  Well, its not easy.  If it was so easy hatred and jealousy and all those things would not feature so much in our world would it? 

• It is a daily renewing of our minds in the Word of the Lord.  
• It is choosing to not conform to the ways of the world, but conform to the Word of the Lord.  
• It is choosing to let anger go, to let resentment go, to let jealousy and hatred go, and 
• to choose to love in its place.  
• Choose instead a word of kindness.  
• Choose to keep quiet instead of voicing your opinion or anger.  
• Choose to be slow to anger.  
• Choose to be understanding.  
• Choose to look at the other person and see into the eyes of someone God loves too.

All of this is possible only because God gives us His grace and mercy daily.  We on our own would not be able to maintain such choices.  It is only because of God that we can.


In the midst of your choosing, choose love:

1 Corinth 13 vs 4 - 7: 

• Love is patient and kind; 
• love does not envy or boast; 
• it is not arrogant or rude. 
• It does not insist on its own way; 
• it is not irritable or resentful; 
• it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, 
• but rejoices with the truth. 
• Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We can with our words (which are tempered by what is in our hearts) start fires or create harmony.  Which do you want to be?  A fire-starter or a harmony-maker?

God bless
Tracy