Sin in the Camp

“You don’t bring X rated movies into your house and watch them as a family.
You don’t bring an idol into your living room and bow down before it.
You don’t have a witch come into your house and hold a séance.
And you don’t get angry in your house.” – S.M. Davis

Wow!  Have you ever thought of anger in the same way you think of pornography, idolatry, and witchcraft?  God is showing me that all sin is the same to Him and none of it is welcome in our home (even if we cannot see it).

Our eyes locked as the target was acquired. I released a loud battle cry, lunging across the open space that separated us. In mid air, contact with the target was established. All smiles vanished as it quickly became apparent that this was not a game. The last thing we heard as we walked from the room was, “Honey, please let me help.” My response this time, “That’s ok, I got this one!”

Spirit of Anger

We do not allow DUI’s (Discipline Under the Influence) in our home. It is an unbreakable rule that protects the hearts of our household. In that moment I felt I was within the limits of our law, being in control of my emotions. I prayed before engaging in a disciplinary action and finished with hugs in love. It was not until we were back at the table, ending our family worship in prayer, that I became painfully aware of my blindside. As I prayed over our family, my wife could no longer contain herself. One of God’s amazing gifts to her (and through her to our family) is that she has an acute sensitivity to the Spirit. She stood crying out that I see the hypocrisy that was so glaringly obvious to her. “You reek of the spirit of anger, as you disciplined our child in anger. Now you have the audacity to pray to God and believe that He will hear your words! REPENT!!!” After saying these words, she flew from the room to sob elsewhere. The kids all got up to go console their mother, as this was the first raw emotional exchange they had ever witnessed between us. Feelings are information, and I had a lot of information to process. As the leader in my home the responsibility rests on my shoulders. I was wrong and needed to repent asking God and my family to forgive me. The whole family gathered in the kitchen to cry together as I humbled myself before them. To each one I cried, “I’m sorry, please forgive me. I was wrong and sinned in my anger. I love you.” My family got to see my failure and forgive me. God is so good and His restoration so sweet.

God is using this event as a catalyst in my life to help me be aware of a blindside in my life, the spirit of anger. I have always associated harsh words and threatening gestures with the word anger. I am learning that I do not have to move a muscle or say a word to be filled with the spirit of anger. It is such a blind spot for me that I have asked my family to help me see it, so through God’s help we can eliminate this sin from our camp.

Be warned, once you declare war on the spirit of anger in your life, God will give you ample opportunity to test your heart in this area. For me these tests come through defiance/disobedience in my kids and dealing with mounting kid stuff – first a full blender of fruit smoothie being dumped all over the cabinets, second the breaking of a water filter, third the breaking of a closet door, and lastly to fill out a full day, using the water sprayer in the kitchen to spray water all over the cabinets twice in a row. In these specific scenarios, my dear friend Bob Stewart echos in my head. “People are more important than stuff, so use stuff and love people.”

If you are ever filled with the spirit of anger (or your family senses the spirit of anger in you), the “Freedom From the Spirit of Anger” by S.M. Davis is a must read article.

Here are ten steps he suggests to conquer the spirit of anger:

1. Recognize the problem and its seriousness.
2. Desire victory enough to cry out to God.
3. Repent of the sin.
4. Confess the sins of the forefathers and ask God in the Name and through the power of the blood of Jesus to break any curse coming down the generations. In Neh 1:6, Nehemiah prayed, “both I and my father’s house have sinned.”
5. Ask God to take back the ground Satan has taken because of anger.
6. See the connection between anger and lust in Matt 5:21-32. Jesus is dealing with the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Lust and anger are twin sisters. When you see one, the other is around. When lust prevails, so does anger. Lust creates an insensitivity in the spirit that causes a person to be more likely to respond wrongly to God and to others.
7. Watch for people and things that are going to come your way to make you angry.
8. Purpose to enter the presence of family members and business associates with praise. Praise is a motivator. Praise is a magnet that draws hearts to you. Praise is a defense for you against wrong words and attitudes.
9. Ask God daily to fill you with His Spirit and to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life.
10. Make yourself fully accountable. Be humble to ask for and accept correction from your mate, your children, and perhaps others.

“You don’t bring X rated movies into your house and watch them as a family.
You don’t bring an idol into your living room and bow down before it.
You don’t have a witch come into your house and hold a séance.
And you don’t get angry in your house.” – S.M. Davis