What Do You Do With The Mad That You Feel?

In 1969, Fred Rogers addressed a frustrated, tired, and angry U.S. Senate subcommittee concerning funding for PBS educational TV. His calm demeanor and earnest reasoning stands in sharp contrast to everyone in the room. Yet it was a song that Mr. Rogers wrote and quoted that won the day. “What do you do with the mad that you feel when you feel so mad you could bite? When the whole world seems oh, so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right?”* What do we do with the mad that we feel? Walk along this short chain of thought:

1. God sometimes gets angry (Ex. 4:14; Num. 25:3; 2 Kings 24:20).
2. God’s anger is never misplaced or uncalled for. “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:6-7).
3. God expects us to sometimes get angry and respond properly. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26).
4. God never wants us to avenge ourselves against anyone, including brethren in the wrong. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:18). Hebrews 10:30-31 says “For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” And, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
5. God will judge in His righteous anger. The wrath of God is coming against all sorts of earthly things (Col. 3:5-6). In 1969, Fred Rogers addressed a frustrated, tired, and angry U.S. Senate subcommittee concerning funding for PBS educational TV. His calm demeanor and earnest reasoning stands in sharp contrast to everyone in the room. Yet it was a song that Mr. Rogers wrote and quoted that won the day. “What do you do with the mad that you feel when you feel so mad you could bite? When the whole world seems oh, so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right?”* What do we do with the mad that we feel? Walk along this short chain of thought: 1.

What do you do with the mad that you feel? The response may be slightly different based on the situation, but the foundation is always the same. Always begin and end by looking to Jesus. “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23; cf. 21-22). – LS

http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/music/songs/what_do_you_do.html