Progress report

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  -Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)

I came across a journal entry I penned five years ago. Reading in Genesis, I made an observation on one of the last events recorded in the life of Noah. The observation still holds true and the entry ended in a prayer I need to update. Plus, the story illustrates one of the reasons I love the Bible: Heroes of the faith are depicted as real people – warts and all...

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.  -Genesis 9:20-21 (NIV)

Noah was more faithful than anyone on the planet during his 950-year lifetime, but it turns out he wasn’t perfect. After Noah and his family and the animals left the ark, Noah settled down and planted a vineyard. He took some of his harvest, made some wine, then proceeded to enjoy the fruit of his labor. After all Noah had lived through, hardly anyone would begrudge him a drink or two; unfortunately, moderation didn’t win the day. Noah got drunk, got naked, and passed out. His youngest son, Ham, found him and mocked him. When Noah woke up and figured out what had happened, he was furious. He cursed Ham and his descendants.

So... the faithful Noah had a lapse in judgment, dishonored himself, got disrespected by his son, and, instead of owning his own part in this embarrassment, he lashed out in anger at future generations of his son's family. The desire to justify ourselves is strong. And it has the ugly side effect of turning us into fools. I hope there was another chapter of Noah's life, unrecorded in the scriptures. I’d like to think he confessed his sin, apologized to his family, and took back his curse. Looking at the balance of what we know about him, that seems like a plausible scenario. Of course, we have no evidence of that.

The trouble is, even if that happened, there are some things we just can't un-say. Anger driven by pride is deadly to relationships. Holy Spirit, check my words and my reactions whenever my anger starts to burn. What am I really mad about? Is it worth being upset over? Is it my own fault? I do not want to hurt the people I love, or damage my ability to bless someone or influence them for Christ because I reacted with unjustified anger.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  -James 1:19-20 (NIV)

Five years later, I can see how God has answered this prayer. I’m not the man I want to be, but thank God – I’m not the man I once was. Are there areas where you’ve seen God-nurtured growth in your life? What is the Spirit prompting you to ask for today? Write it down and start praying, then check back periodically to see what He has done.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  -Philippians 3:12 (NIV)