Okay, let's get down to business: time for a POP Quiz! (being in high school, I can just hear the lovely sound of groans ringing out) Don't worry, don't worry- it's short and sweet!
Here's the question:
Someone castigates the hard work that you've done on a group project, the 'group' project with which you were stuck doing by yourself. How do you respond?
- You blow up, making that person, and anyone within a 10-foot radius, aware of their neglect on the project.
- You make a snarky remark to shut them up.
- Inside, you feel as if you want to scream, but outside you show mild irritation.
- Inside or out, you honestly don't care. Neither of you deserves to be degraded, so you shrug it off.
Like all of the posts in this blog, this quiz is based off of what happened to me. All weekend I had worked on a group project. Four other people were assigned to the project, yet I was the only one to actually do any work. So, when one of the other people in my group pointed out a slight, barely-noticeable mistake, I reacted in one of the options on the quiz.
As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty much a wallflower, so we can cross off Option 1 and 2 for me! I'd like to say that I am Option 4, but you guessed it! I'm Option 3. I'm the girl who gets upset over something as trivial as that group project. Internally, I reacted. Externally, I was irritated. I was annoyed and I quickly pretended that I didn't care, but I'm sure that it was obvious that I did.
I couldn't believe that my lazy partner had the nerve to even begin to point out a mistake when she hadn't even contributed to the project whatsoever. 'If anything', I thought, 'she should be grateful.'
My cheeks flushed beet red. My green eyes snapped. My eyebrows furrowed. 'Let's see your project then, and we'll compare.' I thought. I wanted so badly to say something, to put her in her place, to see her squirm. Anger boiled within me. I felt as if I would explode. Just looking at her irritated me.
We presented our project, the bell rang, and the class slinked out of the room to head home. School was over, but I was still mad. I saw her walk over to her friends, whispered something, and then her friends all looked at me. I blushed. Sorrow and shame flooded over me. That was the impact that I had made on someone today.
I was a whisper-worthy mess.
At the time, it seemed better for me to show irritation rather than love. It seemed better for me to make a slight fuss than to just forget about it. So what was the big deal? After all, it was a silly little project. It's done now, so why was it so important to me then?
I let sin overtake me. I felt that the temptation to be angry, to sin, was more satisfying than to do as God wants us to: to love others, no matter what they do or how they treat us.
It's like advertising for fast food restaurants. The advertising looks so juicy and delicious. It looks as if it would solve your hunger problem. In reality, it never tastes as good as it looks. The food is flimsy and falls short of its advertising. It's so small that it leaves you dissatisfied.
God however, is quite the opposite. He is a great God. He is just as great and awesome as he seems. If you seek him, you won't be left dissatisfied. you won't be craving more. With him, you will be content.
Had I remembered this today, perhaps the problem wouldn't of seemed so giant. I let sin rule over me (Genesis 4:7) instead of thinking it through.
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." James 1:19
It is easy to put verses out there to live by, but following through on them is another task. Anger seems to be a problem that many struggle with. I pray that God will help you overcome the temptation to seek satisfaction through anger. I pray that you will replace any anger that you have with love.
I challenge you this week to listen, speak slowly, and to not become angered easily. I will also be undertaking this challenge, so pray for me, and I'll pray for you!
Next week I will be covering a good type of anger, so stay tuned for the upcoming post!
God's Blessings! And may God be with you, should you choose (and even if you choose not to) undertake the anger challenge!
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