HAPPY AND JOYFUL, OR FULL OF ANGER?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with 
one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. 
(Proverbs 22:24-25)

MEDITATION:
Some sayings are not only just adages from previous generations, 
but some of them are actually based on scriptures from the bible. 
You may have heard someone say, “You are the same as the company you keep”.

Or maybe you have heard, “One bad apple spoils the bunch”.
One illustration I heard was, 
“Put a rotten apple in a basket with good apples and they will soon become 
rotten. However if you put one good apple in a basket with rotten apples, 
the rotten apples will not suddenly be good to eat”.

Apparently one person with a bad attitude and bad habits 
has a greater influence on people with good attitudes and good habits, 
than the good will have on them.
It says a lot about human nature, doesn’t it?
We have a natural tendency to gravitate toward the bad, rather than the good.
Look what the Psalmist said about our nature.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 
(Psalm 51:5)

When we know that we can easily drift toward sinfulness, 
then we need to create safeguards to help us resist our natural tendencies.
The scriptures have a lot to say about anger 
but to include them all would make this devotional way too long.
But in summary, God does not want His people 
to be angry folks who exhibit uncontrolled anger.

So what do we do (or don’t do)?
We listen to the scriptures and we don’t “pal around” with hot-tempered people.
Of course, if we completely separate ourselves from them, 
then we miss out on opportunities to be a witness to them.
So apparently the scriptures are warning us to not become close friends with them.
We can still be casual friends, but if we are around them frequently, 
then we run the risk of developing the same attitude they have.

Think about how you feel whenever you are around an angry person.
Do you feel uncomfortable and want to get far away from them.
Are you fearful that you might say something that pushes their ‘hot button’?
An angry person can find fault with everything and everybody, 
and that does not create a pleasant environment of enjoyment.
Too much negativism can create a state of depression for some people.

ACTION:
Have you decided what kind of person you want to be as a Christian?
You need to make your decision in accordance with God’s Will for you,
and not as a result of how others want or expect you to be. 
When you are the person God wants you to be, not only will you be content 
with yourself, but you will also have a positive impact on those around you.

We all have a responsibility of pointing others to the Lord 
and if our attitudes do not match the image they have of Jesus, 
then we will be poor witnesses for Him.
Others should see us as happy believers who are enjoyable to be around;
and not someone with a sad or angry countenance who others avoid being around.

For others to be interested in what we have to say, 
they have to be interested in us.  
This is why it is important for believers to be positive, 
encouraging people with an unusual happiness.  
Others should have a curiosity about why we are happy.  
If they see us as negative and unhappy or angry people, then they are 
not going to want to be like us, or listen to anything we have to say.  

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to become the person You want me to 
be. Forgive me for allowing others to have a greater influence on 
me than You do. Teach me to chase after goodness and righteousness 
and to run from evilness and sinfulness. Help me to choose to live a 
life that is pleasing to You, so that my countenance will cause others 
to be curious about the reasons for my joy and happiness. Prepare me 
for responding in the right manner whenever others ask me about my joy.” 

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