Overcoming Feelings Of Fear And Anger

INTRODUCTION

Today the world is looking for people who have answers to THEIR problems. Most people are willing to let one disagree as long as they are not too disagreeable in disposition. While the world is looking for better methods, God is still looking for better people that He can use. Let us learn what it takes to become the kinds of people who can avoid the mistakes of some people. Yet, let us also examine some ways that we can understand the perspectives of some people, not to condemn them, but to learn how we might love them as Jesus does.

Several years ago a German zoo got ready to retire one of their faithful bears, Ziggy. Most of Ziggy's fifteen years were spent walking back and forth in his four by twelve-foot cage. When the day came to release Ziggy into a fenced field where he could roam to his heart's content, something unexpected happened. Ziggy's keepers tried to coax the old bear into exploring the boundaries of his new home. To their amazement, Ziggy did what he had been conditioned to do - walk twelve feet forward, turn around and walk twelve feet in the opposite direction. The bear had become a prisoner to his conditioning. With nothing obstructing Ziggy's vision, the animal keepers concluded that Ziggy was a prisoner to his own traditional perceptions!

Similarly, some people appear to be stuck in their traditions. Normally, sincere people do not intend to be malicious. Yet, they look at issues from a very different perspective than people in the mainstream of society. They merely respond to life's situations from what they deem to be appropriate, truthful and effective in bringing about change in line with their perspective.