Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20

Mae’s husband was mad again.  She crouched in the bathroom, his breath hot on her neck as he yelled, “Stop crying like a baby! You’re crazy!  No one else would put up with you!”  The fact of the matter was, that no one but Mae would put up with her angry, abusive husband.  Beaten down for many years, Mae continued to pray that God would change her husband. Unfortunately, Mae’s church gave her bad counsel, sending her back to the anger, again and again.  Woman and men, like Mae, need our compassion and help.

The law of sowing and reaping found in scripture is a principle of the physical and spiritual worlds.  “Do not be deceived” the book of Galatians says, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).   When a person treats another in anger, the natural consequence would be that the target of that anger would move away from the source of rage.  Logically, a person who consistently mistreats his family in anger, wouldn’t have the benefit of a family.  “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction” Galatians declares (v.8).

The Proverbs are also direct: “A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again” (Proverbs 19:19) and “Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people” (Proverbs 22:24-25). If you know a Mae, be bold, and ask God to help you come alongside and offer to help today.

 

Resource reading: Galatians 6:1-10