Matthew 5:21-26

21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 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. 23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 If that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

Good morning!

As we continue our walk through the Sermon on the Mount, we see Jesus address a struggle we often fight in this life. If not dealt with, anger can be detrimental to our relationship with God and others around us. Jesus is showing us through the scripture today that he is raising the bar to the point that it causes us to look inwardly at our hearts to deal with it at the source!

I’ve heard and seen situations where once close friends and even family members write each other off in a moment of anger, resulting in a distant broken relationship. It’s not God’s calling for us to live this way; this passage proves it! Jesus is showing us in each example given here that we must deal with our anger and settle our differences quickly lest we face the consequences of not doing so. He teaches us that we must exceed the law by fixing the problem at the source…. Our heart. See, Jesus is showing us that a heart-level transformation needs to take place for us to truly overcome and move past anger and hatred in this life.

Let me give you this illustration. Imagine someone who never curses or yells at other people. They wouldn’t dare strike someone. They wouldn’t even throw up a traffic gesture when upset. But every time someone even remotely offends them, they are filled with resentment and bitterness. Their mind is so occupied by how wronged they are that it is the only thing they think about for hours, sometimes days, and even years. Jesus is showing us that this isn’t the experience of genuine righteousness. Rather than following a list of rules as the Pharisees did, let’s follow Jesus’ teaching on handling anger and by dealing with it at the heart. Don’t be fooled into bottling up anger and resentment by not dealing with it; it’s a trap that can turn into a spiritual cancer eating you from the inside out. Jesus calls us to fix the problem at the root by looking at our hearts.

Is there an area in your life that has some unforgiveness or anger? Don’t let it eat you up; handle it the correct way that God calls us to before it’s too late.

-Tyler