The Nature of Self-Destruction
Jesus declared several counter-cultural truths in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Gospel of Matthew, one reads this sermon and engages the truths announced by Christ. One area of discourse centered on the threat of self-destruction occurs when one does not deal with the internal struggle that comes from the flesh. Jesus depicted how individuals travel down the path of self-destruction and what believers need to do to battle against this nature.
The harboring of anger paves the path of self-destruction. Jesus compared murder to the harboring anger toward another in Matthew 5:21-22. The destructive nature of anger exists as similar to murder as it destroys relationships and severs the bond of unity. Anger creates a dynamic where the individual’s frustration slowly erodes the individual’s ability to forgive and overcome the irritating issue. The presence of anger often drives believers to fall prey to sin’s temptation and clouds one’s mind from making explicit judgments on activities. The harboring of anger destroys the self due to the lack of ability to extend grace and mercy.
The refusal to seek or offer forgiveness lines the path of self-destruction. Anger corrupts the soul and sets a course in one’s life to refuse to seek forgiveness. Jesus declared that one should strive to reconcile with his brother or sister in Matthew 5:23-24. Such an act involves the seeking of forgiveness from others. The presence of anger often deters this in the self-justification of one’s activities. The person becomes blind to their role in the issue and only sees how they received hurt and not how they hurt the other individual. Thus, seeking forgiveness becomes absent, and self-righteousness and self-justification become dominant. Thus, the self enters into self-destruction mode in the refusal to acknowledge one’s part in the issue.
The same threat exists in the holding of forgiveness to others. When one refuses to forgive another, then the individual displays a self-centered focus on life. Jesus clearly states that the ability to forgive others plays a direct link to the ability to receive forgiveness from the Lord (Matthew 6:14). Thus, the refusal to forgive those who harm you, hurt you, or insult you leads down a path of self-destruction as it blocks the expectation of forgiveness commanded by the Lord.
The rejection to extend love to others guides one down the path of self-destruction. Jesus declared that believers need to love others. This love includes all people. Jesus commanded that believers must love their enemies as well as their friends and family (Matthew 5:43). When love is not extended, then the practice of sin enters life, and the path of self-destruction is traveled. The inability to love others displays an inability to experience and understand the love of God altogether.
The ability to overcome the path of self-destruction rests in the obedience to the counter-cultural ways of following Christ. The believer counters self-destruction when one deals with the existence of anger and seeks restoration. To deal with anger means that one intentionally seeks to discuss the issue and seeks reconciliation with others. Coping with anger means that one identifies the role they play in the problems and identifies what drives the feeling of anger. Overcoming the destructive nature of anger occurs when one deals with the issue at hand and does not allow the matter to grow and sever the relationship.
The continued battle against self-destruction occurs when the believer seeks and gives forgiveness. The practice of forgiveness demonstrates the existence of grace and mercy in one’s life. It exhibits the mercy and grace received from the Lord and extends that grace and mercy to others. Battling the self-destructive nature means that one desires to grow in grace and mercy and seeks to develop those traits to others. Such a life only occurs when one lives authentically with the Lord and seeks to extend to others what the Lord has extended to them.
The believers guard against self-destruction in their love for God and their love for others. When a believer grows in their love for God, then the relationship with others expands as well. The best guard against self- destruction exists in one’s love for God. As one grows in love with the Lord, then the ability to love others occurs, and the ability to deal with anger appropriately happens. Thus, to overcome the self-destruction of the self, one must love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, which leads to loving others.
The current pandemic and pressures in culture have created many threats that lead to anger. Often, we fail to deal with these issues and allow them to fester and cause greater harm to the self and others. When we fail to deal with anger, then we are walking a course of self-destruction. May we center our lives on the Lord and grow in Him so that we can battle the fleshly nature of self-destruction.
