Thanks Jo,
I'm sure that all is well with the world, and also in my soul. I worry about people who are so quick to anger and defensiveness, and I don't feel that I should stop worrying about them. It's not childish to be concerned about the welfare of other's souls. Jack has been dwelling on a mild rebuke for days and each of his posts on the subject was getting more and more seething with anger. That cannot be good for him. Think of Judas.
Jesus continually prayed for the souls of others and although folks here think that's uppity, I take it quite seriously. I do pay close attention to what Jesus did and said. Jesus is the closest personality to God whom I know, and he never exhibited wrath or vengeful behavior. Both Jesus and TUB have very clear teachings concerning anger and bitterness which are a result of a lack of personality control, a sign of spiritual immaturity, a clear cry for help, albeit often an unconscious one.
Quote:
149:4.2 "Anger is a material manifestation which represents, in a general way, the measure of the failure of the spiritual nature to gain control of the combined intellectual and physical natures. Anger indicates your lack of tolerant brotherly love plus your lack of self-respect and self-control."
48.7.20 Impatience is a spirit poison; anger is like a stone hurled into a hornet’s nest.
110.1.5 All physical poisons greatly retard the efforts of the Adjuster to exalt the material mind, while the mental poisons of fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion, and intolerance likewise tremendously interfere with the spiritual progress of the evolving soul.
131.3.6 Let not anger and hate master you.
131.4.6 Let no man do to another what would be repugnant to himself; cherish no malice, smite not him who smites you, conquer anger with mercy, and vanquish hate by benevolence.
131.6.2 Self is man’s invincible foe, and self is manifested as man’s four greatest passions: anger, pride, deceit, and greed. Man’s greatest victory is the conquest of himself.
140.5.6 Fear and anger weaken character and destroy happiness.
141.3.8 Jesus portrayed conquest by sacrifice, the sacrifice of pride and selfishness. By showing mercy, he meant to portray spiritual deliverance from all grudges, grievances, anger, and the lust for selfish power and revenge.
153.3.5 Do you not know it is from the heart that there come forth evil thoughts, wicked projects of murder, theft, and adulteries, together with jealousy, pride, anger, revenge, railings, and false witness? And it is just such things that defile men, and not that they eat bread with ceremonially unclean hands.
155.1.2 But you who have lived with me well know that anger and wrath are not a part of the establishment of the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men.
Jesus said return good for evil. How do you do that on a message board? By just ignoring it? By sweet talking over it? I don't think so. I quote the Master. If the Master's quotes anger a person, then I'll pray for that person too.