Skip to main content

Do you have a Funnel?

I read something about a month ago that for really ticked me off.  The comment upset me for multiple reasons:
- Because of who said it - someone I was previously close to
- Because of who they said it about - a group of people I associate with
- Because of what they said - a not so polite comment
- Because of how they said it - semi-anonymously online

After reading it I must admit that I became pretty angry and wanted to call them out on the comment.  But I also knew that was not the right thing to do.  So I took the comment as a challenge, a challenge to become anything but what they predicted.  Anger is one of many emotions that we can experience in life. 

If we're not careful, our emotions can take control of us.  Fear can cause us avoid opportunities and potential future successes.  Sadness can often times lead to depression.  But not all emotions are bad.  Joy leads us to happiness, peace, and fulfillment in life.  Anticipation is the hope that keeps us going through difficult times.  Emotions are very powerful internal moods and motivations that often drive us to be the people that we become.

As that anger festered and grew inside of me, I had several choices of how to deal with it.  I could lash out and blast the person who made the comment.  I could keep it all bottled up inside and risk it consuming me.  I could try to forget about it and let it go.  Or instead of the emotion using me, I could use it.

I chose to treat that anger like a funnel.  If you've ever tried to pour pre-workout powder into a water bottle you understand precisely what a funnel does.  It takes something that can go everywhere and make a sticky mess if you're not careful with it and moves it to exactly where it needs to be to make you better.

"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." - Ephesians 4:26-27

If something or somebody ticks you off, that's okay.  Use that anger as fuel, as motivation to achieve even more than you ever expected you could do!  You don't have to hurt them to make yourself better.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2020 is Hindsight...Finally!

Wow, what a year! 2020 could literally be an entire decade, maybe more, of history, change, and lessons rolled up into these twelve months. While many aspects of 2020 were kind of sucky and we would like to forget them, it will certainly be a year to remember. And it will be enlightening when this year is looked back on in 10, 25, or 50 years to be discussed. I wonder if we'll seem like geniuses or idiots? Probably both to some extent! While there is so much that I could consider and analyze about this year, I'll try to break some of it down into four dimensions - Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Social/Emotional. These are events and happenings from my world and perspective and I'm trying to be open in sharing and would love to hear from others on events you found most transforming. Physical When COVID cause gyms to close, that messed me up. Our town and state were late to be hit with severe cases and therefore later than many across the country to close up shop. I'm n...

Worship > Fellowship

I believe that worship, true worship of God, is more important than fellowship with other believers.  Now I'm not saying that fellowship and relationships aren't important.  But I am saying that if I'm not worshiping God, if I'm not right with him, then my other relationships can't be right.  My fellowship and worship with him is more important than my relationship with my wife, my son, family, friends, my church, and my community.  Think about it.  How can I love my wife like Christ loved the church if I don't love Christ?  I wouldn't know how to love without knowing him.  Why should she submit to me if I'm not worth submitting to?  And yes I do believes wives should submit, but I also believe that won't be an issue as long as she's submitting to a godly husband.  (Ephesians 5:22-25) Our love for others must flow from our love and worship of God.  1 John 4:19-21 reads, "We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says,...

Lessons in Prayer - 1 Timothy 2:1-8 - Our Attitudes

I'm still working through this same passage on prayer from 1 Timothy and I won't copy all the verses but you can read from the beginning to have a better understanding of the full passage. "...That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior." - 1 Timothy 2:2b-3 Paul's plea for Timothy here is for the church to live peaceful and quiet lives.  So how do we do that?  Well the thought of peacefulness is a life that is free from internal disturbances or distractions.  We must first be at peace with ourselves before we can be at peace with others.  A quiet life is one that flows from being peaceful and is a life free from external disturbances and distractions.  Now this does not mean that the church is to just go along with whatever the world says in order to be peaceful.  We are not to waver on biblical truth period.  You won't find true Christian...