Anger and bitterness - a reflection of myself

I learnt how to fold a paper aeroplane since young. And it only requires a piece of paper, and it doesn't matter what kind of paper it is. More than often, the paper aeroplane can fly and sometimes it flies high. Sometimes, I got hit by the paper aeroplane that I made, what silly me. And sometimes, if my friends throw me a paper aeorplane and I got hit by it, I get angry and sometimes bitter. Sometimes, they hit me with a lot of them, then run away, without saying anything. Given the kind of person I am, I tend to get angry, bitter, sad, and a lot of emotions will just flow in. And certainly I know that they are not Christ-like attitude. So I decided to turn to the Bible for advice...

By the way, for those who dun know, the Bible is called the Bible because we believe that the Bible is the Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.

Yeah, and so, I decided to turn to the Bible and think about it. I realised that I need to adjust my own attitude and temper. I know that the Bible teaches that:

In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry
- Ephesians 4:26

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
- James 1:19-20

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
- Psalm 37:8

In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
- Psalm 4:4

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
- Matthew 5:21-22

And I realise that it's time to be slow to anger and think about things in a calm manner. In fact, I realise that it is in times like this that we start to depend on God more and more.

Also, the aeroplanes sometimes also cause bitterness. It's quite sad sometimes to think that how people can get bitter about things but that's how we are. We are imperfect and are therefore vulnerable to negative emotions and that certainly includes bitterness, especially if we continue to meditate on the negative side. Therefore, when aeroplanes fly, it sorta reflected on my own vulnerability on bitterness. And this, I also decided to turn to the Bible and find that:

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- Matthew 6:14

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times
- Matthew 18:21-22

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Hebrews 12:14-15

My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.
- Psalm 38:7-9

Bitterness will grow to cause trouble and defile many. Many a times, we allow the bitterness to grow and eventually the result is exactly what Psalm 38 described.

But the Bible teaches us to forgive, and yeah forgive. It's of course easier to be said than done. It's of course easy for us to pay lip service to the Word. But God promises to forgive for all our sins if we just believe in Christ. That's a fact and that's a promise. It's written as such:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast
- Ephesians 2:8-9

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
- Ephesians 4:32

So we ought to forgive one another and let go of our anger and bitterness, though it's hard to do. But I know that with God, nothing is impossible. I know that because I have been forgiven, therefore, I will forgive the others. It should be the way. This way, we will not succumb to sins. I have faith that it is possible to forgive other people, although it may be difficult, although people may have to pay back what they have sinned and reap what they sow:

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
- Luke 19:8

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
- Romans 6:13

And I realise that it's just a matter of putting down yourself and letting go of the pride. To quote from one of my brothers' blog:

Humility, if ever we could grow into it, would not be a burden. It would be an immense gift. Humility is the freedom to stop trying to be what we're not, or pretending to be what we're not, and accepting our "appropriate smallness." In Luther's words, humility is the decision to "let God be God."

More than often, our pride, or lack of humility are the obstacles that really stopped us from taking a step back and forgive. More than often, we have eyes but we do not see and we have ears but we do not hear. We allowed our pride to blind us from seeing the whole thing. Maybe sometimes things happen because we have done something or what. In fact, sometimes, rather than forgiving, we should be the one to seek forgiveness... though we ought to since when we anger or got tempted to bitterness, we ought to repent and seek God's forgiveness anyway...

Anyway, just in case you people are wondering what's the matter with paper aeroplane. I'll just say that paper aeroplanes hurt more than real aeroplanes. Fly me a paper aeroplane and I will surely get hit if I'm not careful. Fly me a real metal aeroplane... and see if it crash into me... Ouch, it hurts anyway...

May God bless.