The Bible teaches that violence is
an ever-present problem when a people are out of touch with God.
Violence was
a characteristic of the pre-flood world.
The assessment of the human
condition prior to the Flood paints a disturbing picture. Peterson in The Message describes it this
way: “God saw that human
evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil
from morning to night. As far as God was
concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere.
God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life
itself corrupt to the core.”
Violence seems to have had free rein when
Israel had turned from God (Jeremiah 6:7).
The “city of peace,” was far from it.
As a well
keeps its water fresh,
so she
keeps fresh her wickedness;
violence
and destruction are heard within her;
sickness
and wounds are ever before me. [1]
Paul describes violence as part
of the makeup of the sinful personality.
Romans 3: 15 “Their feet are
swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not
known.” [2]
We don’t need
the Bible to tell us that violence can be found everywhere.
It
might be linked to frustration in a difficult economic time, disappointment,
mental illness, or simple evil.
How
can we deal with violence in ourselves and others?
For
ourselves—
1.
Adopt a Biblical self-image. (“For by
the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according
to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Romans 12:3)
Karen
Peterson’s discussion of the causes of rage speaks to this point:
Experts
searching for causes [of runaway rage] blame an increasing sense of
self-importance, the widespread feeling that things should happen my way.”
There
are other factors, of course, but this sense of self-importance is one of the
most significant. Leslie Charles says we
have developed a sense of entitlement.
She reports that this leads to the notion that “life should be
easy. People should get out of my
way. My child should win at this game.”
When
Paul said “do not think more highly of yourselves than you ought to think” he
was laying the foundation for a realistic self-esteem.
Fits
of temper are often tools of manipulation.
When you adopt a Biblical self-image, you’ll not try to control others
with your anger. Instead, you will ask
yourself, “What right to I have to force my will on another free person?”
2. Work toward an adult attitude toward life.
One
counselor says we need to deal with anger, in part, by “setting aside
idealistic myths.” It’s childish to
expect everything to go your way.
Your
boss is your boss, not your mother. Your
boss may never say, “Your idea is so much better than the home office’s, it’s
certainly better than mine.” Your boss
may not treat you with the respect you think you deserve but that’s no excuse
to rage at your spouse, your children, your dog.
If
you’re driving home with 100,000 other drivers on a road built for 50,000, you
should expect some bottlenecks and delays.
Check out a good book on tape.
3. Allow God’s Spirit to produce his fruit in
your life.
Giving
unrestrained vent to our anger can sadden the Spirit of God. At the same time, allowing God’s Spirit
freedom to work in our lives to generate the virtues which will increase our
likeness to Christ will give joy to the Spirit.
According to Paul (in Galatians 5:22-23), one of those virtues is
“self-control.”
What
about the violence of others? It’s a
difficult question because we are powerless to change others.
--Pray
for them.
--Seek
just but stronger laws for dealing with those who have a potential for
violence.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version.
1989 (Je 6:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version.
1989 (Ro 3:15–17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
