Self condemnation: confession time!
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
When the rubber hits the road, the foregoing truth can sometimes be very difficult to believe, let alone apply personally.
While returning to the parking garage under our home in Barbados in late January, I discovered that one of the cleaning staff had placed her room servicing cart in my path. When she didn’t move it immediately, I chose to reverse the car a little and drive forward on the wrong side of the driveway. This maneuver requires deft navigation because the passageway is very tight and must be approached at just the right angle. Unfortunately, I didn’t pull it off and scraped the side of our (relatively new) car on the concrete partition separating the two sides of the driveway!
The real target of my anger was me, not her.
Forgetting I was an ambassador for Jesus, I immediately resorted to blaming the staff member for not quickly moving her cart. However, later that evening, I came to the realization that I was the one who was at fault. As a result, the real target of my anger was me, not her. My self-condemnation was exacerbated by the fact that I had scratched the car several months prior in the same garage!
In his letter to the fledgling church at Ephesus, Paul exhorts them (and us) not to sin when angry. While there is such a thing as righteous anger as when Jesus drove vendors and money changers from the temple because they were turning it into a “den of robbers,” mine was not virtuous. So why did I behave the way I did and how can I avoid future unrighteous outbursts of anger?
I believe the answer to this question relates to being continually aware of who we are as followers of Jesus. As discussed in Chapter 5 of “More Than Your Business Card,” our perspective concerning our identity in Jesus is like the operating system on a computer. It works behind the scene, affecting our behavior in subtle and not so subtle ways. If we’re not secure in, and mindful of, the truth that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, it’s easy to act out of our old identity.
Returning to my car accident, with Mary’s help I suddenly saw that I was behaving in a manner contradictory to the five aspects of identity discussed in “More Than Your Business Card.” Irrespective of my shortcomings, Jesus (1) completely accepts me, (2) values me extraordinarily, (3) loves me eternally, (4) forgives me totally, and (if I will let Him) (5) empowers me to share the Good News of Jesus with others. As it happens, I was questioning all five that evening!
With this revelation came the conviction that I needed to seek forgiveness from the person I had berated. With the help of another staff member, I was able to identify and connect with her. She immediately forgave me and asked my forgiveness for her reaction that evening. It turns out we’re both followers of Jesus!
As a follower of Jesus, do you sometimes forget who you are in Christ and act out of your old identity?
Photo by Andrew Neel, pexels
