A few months ago at a young adult’s bible study at my church we had a lesson on anger. The lesson explained both unrighteous and righteous anger. Unrighteous anger is the kind of anger that comes from an “upset to the kingdom of ‘me’� and comes out of a selfish place. It seeks to tear others down instead of build them up. I think everyone knows that they have felt this type of anger before. You get upset because something directly affects you, your heart, your mind, or the way you live. You’re upset because it seems to be an injustice to your world. Unrighteous anger, or “normal� anger, is an ugly thing because it can consume so much of a person’s heart and really prevent them from moving forward in many situations.
Righteous anger is described as this… The type of anger that is due to an injustice to the kingdom of Christ. You are angry at the injustice (whatever it may be), but you seek to build up, to restore, and to help. It’s the type of anger that pushes you to action. It seeks to encourage. It’s the type of anger that keeps you up at night thinking, or that gets you so fired up that you have to go for a run, or pour your heart out to a blog at midnight in Nicaragua. (yes that’s happening right now)
There is something you need to know before I spring into story mode. You should know that in Nicaragua their main export is sugar cane. There is a large company that harvests the sugar cane in the Chichigalpa area. Many of the men that live in this area work for the company because it is a job, and a fairly good paying one from what I understand. They are not sure exactly what it is, but there is something in the fields (or in the sugarcane) that causes a terminal illness among the workers. The company does not really allow scientists and reporters from the USA to investigate what it is. However, many believe is it chemicals and pesticides that the company uses on their crops. Long story short, after a few years of working the men come down with the illness and are quickly let go because they can no longer meet the requirements in the job. This leaves them and their family without an income and now with a terminal illness on their hands. With no job there is no way to pay for any treatment for the ill men. (Please feel free to do more research on the illness and facts about it, the ones I just said may not all be straight)
Here is my latest experience with righteous anger.
This past Monday, my team went into the local community Bethel in the afternoon. This is a very common occurrence for my team, so we loaded up in the truck and headed toward Bethel as the rain pelted us on the drive. We made our way down the bumpy road just like every other day and pulled up right next to the church. We hopped off the truck into puddles from the rain and planned out the next hour and a half. I knew a few people on my team had visited an ill man on the outside of town a few times and I really wanted to go. I had yet to have a personal experience with a person that had the illness that was so highly talked about. I got together with some people from my team and we started walking. After about a 10 minute walk we reached the man’s house. His family greeted us with smiles and even walked across the yard in the rain to get us chairs to sit in. We sat with him and his family and conversation started. He thanked us for coming to spend time with him and pray for him. He started talking about his family: His wife, his two daughters, and his son. His son is the sole financial provider for the family because his father is ill. He told us that most of the time his entire body aches from the illness. He told us that his daughter clung to him the other day and just kept saying “Dad don’t leave me.� We only stayed for a short time and before we left we prayed for him. I tried very hard to not let tears escape my eyes as we prayed for this man and his family.
On the walk back I didn’t talk to anyone. My mind was going a thousand miles an hour at what I had just seen and I couldn’t just let it go. I got back and that night when I tried to go to bed, I just could not do it. I was so angry. Angry at the injustice to this man and his family, angry at the hurt they are enduring, and angry that I am only one person. Here is the thing to remember and what God is currently teaching me. You are one person, but you can still do something. Instead of being overwhelmed by the amount of work you cannot do focus on what you CAN do. The enemy tries to make you think of what you cannot do. Ignore that. Focus on the fact that you can bring exactly what others need. BECAUSE CHRISTS LIGHT IS IN YOU.
I am learning.
That is what I am learning.
Thanks for reading.
