Hate
& Anger Will Make You A Slave
Matt. 5:41
“A
clear conscience is a great step toward
barricading the mind against neuroticism.”
--William
Sadler, Psychiatrist
While visiting
a park, Dale Carnegie observed a grizzly
bear eating with a skunk. The grizzly allowed
no other animal to eat with him. Although
he resented the skunk, the bear would not
pick a fight with him. He had no doubt learned
the high cost of getting even!
Jesus Christ
gave us a very valuable lesson when He said,
“If someone sues you for your jacket,
give him your coat also. If he compels you
to walk one mile, go with him two”.
(Matt. 5:41)
It’s
not always worth a battle to gain our so-called
rights. We must determine if the issue is
important enough to risk our peace of mind,
health and general well-being. It's possible
to win a battle and lose the war! There
are times it is far better to walk away
from a fight, even if it means we have to
eat humble pie.
Jesus also
said, “Love your enemies, pray for
those who despitefully use you and persecute
you”. (Matt. 5:44) The law of Moses
was more rigid, “An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth”. (Ex. 21:24)
Sometimes
it is far better, however, to walk the extra
mile, turn the other cheek, or give away
a jacket or overcoat, than to end up with
a bad case of nerves, ulcers or sleepless
nights!
LOVE IS
THE SOLUTION TO MANY ILLS!
In the past,
some have criticized the advice that Jesus
Christ gave about loving our enemies as
impractical and unrealistic, but psychiatrists
are now recommending it as a solution for
many ills!
The Ayatolleh
Khoemeni was wrong when he said: “Like
Moses, Jesus the Blessed would have picked
up a sword, had He lived longer.” Our
Lord Jesus said: “…for all they
that take the sword shall perish with the
sword.” (Matt.26:52)
Napoleon
Bonaparte correctly stated: “I see
in Lycurgus, Numa, and Muhammed only legislators
who, having the first rank in the state,
have sought the best solution of the social
problem, but I see nothing there which reveals
divinity...
“You
speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their
conquests, and of the enthusiasm they enkindled
in the hearts of their soldiers; but can
you conceive of a dead man making conquests
with an army faithful and entirely devoted
to his memory? My armies have forgotten
me, even while living, as the Carthaginian
army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power!
“Alexander,
Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded
empires. But on what did we rest the creations
of our genius? Upon force! Jesus Christ
alone founded His Empire upon love; and,
at this hour, millions of men would die
for Him.”
St. Paul
stated: “Therefore if thine enemy hunger,
feed him; if he thirst, give him drink…Be
not overcome of evil, but overcome evil
with good.” (Rom.12: 20-21) The Holy
Spirit taught him the real values of life!
He was a self-righteous Pharisee who thought
he was doing God’s will by imprisoning
and killing Christians. Then he met Jesus
on the Damascus Road. He was converted and
received a new spirit and world - view!
Booker T.
Washington, a black American who became
famous in spite of prejudices against his
colour and who was insulted on numerous
occasions, wrote, “I will not let any
man reduce my soul to the level of hatred”.
The famous
physiologist Dr. John Hunter, knew what
anger could do to his heart. “The first
scoundrel that gets me angry will kill me”,
he stated.
Sometime
later, at a medical meeting, a co-worker
made assertions that incensed Hunter. As
he stood up and bitterly attacked the speaker,
his anger caused such a contraction of the
blood vessels in his heart that he fell
dead!
In his book,
‘None of These Diseases’ Dr. S.I.
McMillen relates numerous accounts like
the above, which prove that powerful negative
emotions can make you sick and even cause
death!
HATRED
HOLDS YOU CAPTIVE!
According
to medical researchers, verbal expressions
of animosity toward others call forth certain
hormones from the pituitary, adrenal, thyroid
and other glands, an excess of which can
cause disease in any part of the body.
Says McMillen,
“The minute you begin hating someone,
you become his slave. Hatred holds you captive
and robs you of peace of mind, and your
time is spent recounting unpleasant situations.
Your enemy consumes your every waking moment
and hatred holds your mind hostage.”
You are tormented
by the demons of hatred, jealousy and envy.
Your only desire is for revenge. It isn't
worth it; let it go! Release the hatred,
bitterness and resentment, and the healing
powers within you will begin to function.
King Solomon
stated, that it is better to be served a
dish of vegetables with love, than to have
the best beef served with hatred. (Prov.
15:17)
Internationally
known psychiatrist, Alfred Adler, wrote,
“The most important task imposed by
religion has always been, ‘Love Thy
Neighbour’. It is the individual who
is not interested in his fellowman, who
has the greatest difficulties in life and
provides the greatest injury to others.
It is from such individuals that all human
failures spring”.
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SIN & SICKNESS!
Shakespeare
saw the relationship between sin and disease.
It was the memory of Duncan’s murder
that produced psychosomatic overtones in
Lady MacBeth. When MacBeth asked the physician
about her illness, he replied:
“Not so sick, my Lord.
As she is
troubled with thick-coming fancies
That keep
her from rest”.
Then the doctor
was asked:
“Canst
thou not minister to mind diseas'd,
Pluck from
the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the
written troubles of the brain,
And with some
sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the
stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weights
upon the heart?”
A French proverb says, “There is no
pillow as soft as a clear conscience”.
And psychologist Henry C. Link stated, “The
emphasis on sin has largely disappeared
from the teaching of religion...at the very
time when psychology has discovered its
importance and extended its meanings”.
The Bible
says: “But if we walk in the light,
as He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sins.
If we confess our sins (to God) He is faithful
and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John
1: 7-9) What an opportunity to be forgiven
and healed at the same time!
Let us take
a lesson from the grizzly bear and learn
to avoid strife wherever possible! In a
complex world, we must learn to co-exist,
remembering the Scripture that says, “If
it possible, as much as lieth in you, live
peaceably with all men”. (Rom. 12:18)
In my opinion,
Dr. S.I. McMillen’s book is one of
the greatest ever written, by a physician
who - like Dr. David Livingstone - spent
years on the Mission field ministering to
the many needs of the poor and neglected
masses there!
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