So Many Angry Christians (So few people calling them out on it)

One of my all-time favorite cartoons is Calvin and Hobbes and my favorite of those is one of Calvin and his patient mother.

The first frame shows Calvin’s mother sitting on the sofa calmly folding laundry when from another room Calvin yells “Mom! Mom!”

In the next frame Calvin’s mother has black clouds around her head indicating her anger but she tries to continue folding laundry as Calvin yells again, “Mom! Mom!”

In the third frame, Calvin’s mother now has tornados dancing around her face and scowling she yells back, “Calvin, if you need me, do NOT yell from the other room. Come in here and tell me what you want!”

In the final frame, Calvin stands before her, a trail of brown footprints behind him. His mom looks at him calmly and asks “Now, what did you need?”

He replies “I stepped in dog poop. What should I do?”

I posted this cartoon over my desk and it reminded me, through years of homeschooling and parenting of a verse from the book of James, “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)

Is that one of the most ignored verses of the Bible or what?

Growing up, even as a very young girl, I loved the Lord. I read the Bible like the boys I knew devoured comic books and the girls studied Teen Beat. I spent hours alone with God, often putting my Bible, a hymnal and a notebook in my plastic flowered bike basket and biking to the wooded pond behind our church to read, pray and study alone.

This was my practice throughout elementary and high school.

Then, I showed up at Christian college.

I remember meeting some older students who had grown up in much more conservative churches and homes than I did. I was in awe. They knew things I didn’t – rules I’d never heard of before about music and dating and Christian lifestyles.

At one meal, I was accosted by one of these more experienced students who asked me if I had daily devotions.

“I don’t think so.” I replied nervously.

“How can you call yourself a Christian? I’m beginning to wonder if you’re saved!” She said with an angry tone, a scowl and imaginary tornadoes swirling around her face. She then went on to school me in the practice of daily devotions. She showed me a little book she had which had a Bible verse to read for every day and a short meditation after it.

“There, you see. Real Christians do daily devotions. You read the verse, read the passage and say a prayer.” She seemed very pleased with herself for having enlightened me but still seemed very much in doubt of my salvation.

That day, I visited the college bookstore and bought myself a devotional. If this is what serious Christians do, then I was going to do it, too. It seemed simple enough.

The problem was, it only took me about ten minutes each day to do this devotional thing and I was used to spending a lot more time with God. So, I asked the older girl if it was OK to read ahead.

With a roll of her eyes and a look of disgust (as if I had just confirmed her worse fears about me) she scolded me, “Of course not! You see each day has a date on it. It’s important to do devotions EVERY day! You can’t skip ahead.” The look she gave to her friend communicated her obvious hopelessness for my case.

Determined to confront this problem head on, I returned to the bookstore and bought several more devotionals so I could do a couple in the morning, some mid-day and some at night. There, that was more like the time I was used to spending with God and now I was like the “real” Christians on campus, I had daily devotions.

Looking back, I think how much better that whole exchange would have gone (and how much cash it would have saved me) if the older girl had asked me a couple of questions about whether or not I spent time reading my Bible or praying during the day. I’d never heard of devotions but I was, in fact, already disciplined in the practice. This girl’s idea of devotions very nearly killed my spiritual life but eventually God helped me to see the folly of trying to live according to other people’s ideas about how time with Him should look.

It certainly would have been better for me if this girl had not seemed so angry, sort of hostile toward my ignorance, as though I was purposely trying not to know what devotions were. I’ve met a lot of angry Christians through the years and I promise you their anger has never done anything but damage my life and the lives of those around me.

Why are we so afraid to listen? Why do we rush so readily to anger? I think some of it happens in response to a church that seems to be losing its backbone, lacking in spine and absolutes. I get that but I don’t think the proper response to sin is more sin. God clearly says that “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires” so why do so many of us think we’re justified to walk around expressing anger at everyone?

I believe we should stand for truth. I believe we should not compromise nor placate the world. I believe in calling sin what it is and declaring the truth of God but I’m determined to find a way to do it that is in line with this command from God “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

What would our lives, our churches, our airwaves look and sound like if we all tried to live this out for even a week? Do you think it would make a difference? What would we do instead? Tell me what you think. I’m listening.