Newsletter

- Rev. Godwin Kanakaraj

Dear friends, it has been a mild summer this year. Children must be enjoying their summer vacation. Some may have taken summer classes while others are playing around, watching TV etc. This month I would like to write a short reflection on short temper. This is a result of my personal meditation time and the recent shootings in and around our neighborhood. Last year a driver in Philadelphia shot another driver on the highway because the other person had cut him off. Stories like this have happened and are happening all over the country.

Now, of course, we wouldn’t do anything like that. But have you ever lost your temper? Have you ever done things you wish you had not done, or said things you wish you had never said?

Well, the Bible has something to say about overcoming anger. Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man’s wisdom gives him patience. It is to his glory to overlook an offense." Now this is the secret. If someone offends you and if you are a man of wisdom (God’s wisdom) then you can overlook it, and not allow the situation to become a major event that overwhelms or controls you.

First of all there is sudden anger, and the Bible says that sudden anger is to be controlled.

Proverbs 14:17 says, "A quick-tempered man does foolish things." We all know that because we have experienced it in our own lives. If we have a short temper, we are going to do a lot of foolish things. When we lose our temper we will say things we know we shouldn’t have said, and do things that we are going to be sorry for later on.

Next, Proverbs 15:18 says, "A hot tempered man stirs up dissension." That simply means that if you have a short temper, if you are always losing your temper, then you are going to leave a bunch of hurt feelings and unhappiness behind you.

Proverbs 18:13 says, "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame." He is talking about jumping to conclusions. We hear just a little bit of what is said, and we instantly jump to a conclusion, and oftentimes it is the wrong conclusion.

Proverbs 19:19 says, "A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty." We are reminded of this almost every day. Doctors tell us that losing our temper consistently brings about high blood pressure, dryness of mouth, and a fast-beating heart. It could even bring pre-mature death. A hot temper could also mean loss of family and friends. The penalties of losing our temper are many.

So the Bible says, "If you have a sudden temper, then you need to control it." But how can we do that?

Have you ever found yourself engaged in a heated discussion with your voice getting louder and your words becoming more rapid? Then the telephone rings and you calmly say, "Hello." Sure, you can control your temper. Our children are the best example for this. In the midst of a heated discussion they are able to say, hi! Aunty or hi! Uncle in a sweet voice without let the other person know about the situation. Friends, we can overcome this. First of all, we need to recognize that we have a problem with temper. As long as we deny it, as long as we deny it as heredity or blame it on short-temper or whatever we choose to blame it on, we won’t be able to control it. Secondly, we must confess our problem to God and ask for His help. "Lord, I’m beginning to lose my temper, and I’ve done it many times before. Please help me see what is causing it to happen, and then help me to overcome it."

The Bible teaches that when the Holy Spirit guides our life, that one fruit of the spirit is self control. And if you have a sudden temper, you need to control it. God the Holy Spirit will help you to achieve this. Amen.

- Joe Kingsly

தேவனுக்கு பிரியமான ஜெபம்

- Sujaya Robin

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

This is a very familiar verse to most of us and gives great assurance that God is in control. Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel, a hymn writer used this as a reference to write this popular revival hymn ‘Be still, my soul’.

She listened to the Spirit speaking to her soul. She heard a deafening silence, and she was moved to share it in verse. Her storm had to do with her fiancé dying, just before the wedding. The storm was wild. She was caught in the eye of the storm. And in the eye of storm, she wrote a poem, which became a hymn. It was written around 1713 during the pietistic revival in Germany. Almost after 100 years it was translated into English by Jane L. Borthwick and composed by jean Sibelius.

"Be still, my soul – the Lord is on thy side!
Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide –
In ev'ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul – thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

I don’t know what storms in your life you’ve had to face — literal storms or figurative storms. Literal storms: maybe at sea; maybe on land; maybe with the snow; maybe with the ice, – as many of us experienced last winter here in Chicago. Figurative storms: maybe with relationships at home, work or friends.

Jesus rebukes the storm as related by Luke asking the ‘hard to digest’ question- "Where is your faith?" I often wondered - but what faith? What faith was he looking for? Faith, perhaps, that cries out to God not just in the storms, but when the sun shines, as it does today? Faith, that storms, somehow that we don’t understand it, are part of life. Faith that Jesus is in your boat, whether the sun shines or not. Faith that though he seems to be asleep, he is very much awake and alert and never forgets us. Faith that the storm will rage only as long as he wants it rage, as he permits. Faith that even though we don’t understand the storms that surround us, that like the crucifixion, that storm that in a sense blew Jesus away, God knows what’s happening still and works his plans and purposes out through it.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time ‘being still’ when I face storms. I squirm, fidget, ask questions and sometimes get angry. I felt I had company when I saw the same behavior in a 4 year old in-flight on my way back from India! It made me re-focus on a certain dimension of my faith!

Is this our faith? Christ, in our storm, in the boat with us, very much awake.

- தேவப் பிரியன்

Some believe that Thirukkural must have been influenced by St. Thomas, the doubting apostle of Christ. History accepts the fact that St. Thomas lived and died in Chennai. A catholic church on St. Thomas Mount marks the spot where it is believed that he was martyred. But there is no proof to support the fact that Thiruvalluvar was influenced by St. Thomas or Jesus Christ. As we have been seeing through this series Thirkkural covers various aspects of life and in many of these cases the Bible goes a step beyond the world view.

Crossword No. 14 (Interactive)

Congratulations! Correct entries for Crossword No. 13 submitted by
Edith & Adeline Andrews, Chennai, India
Charles, Cynthia and Kids, Hoffman Estates, IL

TUCC newsletter is a publication of Tamil United Church of Christ, Chicago
All articles represent the views of the authors only (whether disclosed or undisclosed) and should not be assumed to represent the view of TUCC.