We’ve heard a great deal in recent years about contagious diseases and how to protect ourselves from them.
But could we be overlooking another kind of contagion—one that affects the soul?
Sinful attitudes and habits can spread quietly from person to person. We listen to someone’s angry complaints until we become angry too. We hear gossip and soon begin repeating it. We spend time around constant complaining, crude speech, overspending, substance abuse, or entitlement, and gradually those things no longer seem so serious.
Before long, we may begin participating ourselves.
Today’s reading in Proverbs warns us that anger can be learned. But it isn’t the only sin that spreads. We’ll look at five contagious sins, how our relationships and entertainment can expose us to them, and what we can do to guard our hearts without withdrawing from the people who need the gospel.
You work hard. You pay the bills. You try to be responsible. Yet it sometimes feels like your paycheck disappears almost as quickly as it arrives—as though you’re carrying around a purse with holes in it.
Could there be more going on than inflation, unexpected expenses, or bad luck?
In Haggai’s day, God told His people to “consider your ways.” They had become so focused on their own lives that they had neglected what mattered most to Him. As a result, everything they worked for seemed to slip through their fingers.
Could God sometimes use our finances—or other difficult circumstances—to get our attention and lovingly call us back to Him?
We’ll also consider where every blessing truly comes from and why remembering that truth is one of the greatest antidotes to pride.
Have you noticed how anger and disrespect seem to be everywhere?
People are quick to criticize, slow to listen, and increasingly unwilling to submit to any authority. Whether it’s in homes, schools, churches, politics, or social media, anger has become almost a badge of honor.
But what if these attitudes are symptoms of something much deeper?
Today’s readings reveal the devastating cost of compromise, the influence our lives have on the next generation, and why our response to authority ultimately reveals something about our relationship with God Himself.
The consequences are far greater than damaged relationships or a divided culture. They reach into eternity.
Today we’ll see once again that sinful behavior has consequences. And when it comes to parenting, one of the most devastating sins is favoritism. Add selfishness and manipulation to the equation and you have a destructive combination that can tear families apart. Isaac and Rebekah had to learn that lesson the hard way.
The consequences of favoritism, selfishness, and other sins can be long-lasting and painful to our families, too. How can we recognize and prevent those things in our parenting?
We’ll also read about the difference between righteous anger and sinful anger, the chastening of the Lord, and the importance of defending the faith in love.
How do you know whether you’re a spiritually mature Christian?
Is it how long you’ve been saved? How much of the Bible you know? How faithfully you attend church? How many ministries you’ve served in?
Or perhaps we measure ourselves by the things we don’t do.
I don’t get drunk. I don’t steal. I don’t commit adultery. I don’t live like the world.
Those things matter. But Ephesians 4 brings spiritual maturity much closer to home.
How do we respond when someone irritates us?
How do we handle anger?
Do we speak the truth—or shade it when honesty is uncomfortable?
Do our words build people up or tear them down?
Are we easily drawn to teaching that sounds good, or do we know God’s Word well enough to recognize error?
And what about bitterness, forgiveness, pride, and the way we handle disagreements?
Paul began this section by urging believers to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
So what exactly does a worthy walk look like?
Ephesians 4 gives us a surprisingly practical picture—and it may reveal that some of the areas we use to measure spiritual maturity aren’t the ones God emphasizes most.
Do you ever battle with worry, anger, and anxiety in your thoughts? How can you conquer them so your mind is filled with contentment and peace?
Also, find links to last week’s other posts. They covered everything from responding to private temptations and the unpardonable sin to how to trust God when evil seems to be triumphing everywhere.
Anger … it’s a common, almost universal struggle. We get angry because we want to decide what’s right and what’s wrong for us! We want to control what goes on around us. Anger is not just an emotion. It’s an issue of the heart (Matt. 15.18-20). And when we are angry our tendency, instead of taking responsibility for it, is to make excuses, minimize it, or blame other people or our circumstances. We’ve touched on them in previous posts, but today, we’re going to talk about the two primary forms of anger and steps to overcoming it.
While it may take different forms, most of us have struggled with anger. Some of us turn our anger inward by clamming up or engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Some of us explode at the least provocation. No matter how we express it, anger can be extremely damaging. Today’s post is part 2 of our discussion on “Handling Anger Biblically.”
While it may take different forms, most of us have struggled with anger. Some of us turn our anger inward by clamming up or engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Some of us explode at the least provocation. Anger can be extremely destructive. It can cost us our jobs, our marriages, our families, our testimonies, even our health. Much has been written about anger and how to control it, but the Bible doesn’t call us to control sinful anger. It calls us to something much deeper.
We’ve all seen them or experienced them, blended families with angry, resentful children or teens. And parents who are just trying to “live through it” until the kids are old enough to leave home. In some cases, the children aren’t only angry but are in full-blown rebellion. I don’t have to tell you this falls far short of God’s best for families.How does this happen when couples start out with such high hopes for their marriages and families?
