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Lenten Devotional

March 24, 2019

1:00am – 1:00am

But now you must put them all away…wrath

Colossians 3:8

 

Put Off
Wrath

 

I wouldn’t say that “wrath” is a word in my daily vocabulary. It’s simply not a word I have often thought about, and if I have, I might have thought how similar it is to “anger.” One of the first things that comes to my mind when I think of “wrath” is the well-known novel, The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, published in 1939. It takes place during the Great Depression in the United States, following a farming family from the hopeless setting of the Dust Bowl (severe drought) to the desperate setting of migrant camps full of exploited and starving workers. Hate, violence and murder all occur. It doesn’t seem at first that this extreme picture of hopelessness and desperation could be relevant when examining oneself in order to “put off wrath,” as is commanded by Paul.

 

When I looked up the difference between the definition of “wrath” and that of “anger,” I read that wrath is “strong, vengeful anger or indignation” (Merriam-Webster). So, wrath is indeed similar to anger, but there is an action, or rather, a reaction involved. When we feel wrath, we have witnessed or experienced something unjust, and we want so desperately for that wrong to be judged and punished. Our desire to be in control has overtaken our hope in God’s own justice, perhaps without us even realizing it. What follows is harming or cursing another.

 

The same desperation and hopelessness that permeate The Grapes of Wrath then, are the same emotions that lead to our own destructive wrathfulness. Certainly, more than one character in the novel allows himself to turn to wrath in a most extreme way. We may not be farmers dependent on environmental conditions, or migrants being taken advantage of by powerful men, but we certainly feel a lack of control over our lives or feel like victims of unfair treatment at times. In these moments, Paul calls us to proactively put off wrath. To me, that means to relinquish control and instead put my hope in God (Psalm 37:8-9); to pray with thanksgiving in any situation (Philippians 4:6-7); to repay evil with blessing (1 Peter 3:9) and to seek to glorify him in my words and actions, always.

 

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are a just and righteous God, and you are in control. Thank you, merciful God, that you forgive us when we fail to turn away from wrath. Help us to seek you first when we feel desperate or hopeless. Help us to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify you.  Amen.                     

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