Walking With My Brother

written June 24, 2012

Take My Anger, Part I

Take my anger, oh Lord,
Take all the energy that builds in me
And channel it to Your purpose.

Take my righteous rage,
My fury with the smug condescension
Of ignorant others.

How can they not fill with shame about their attitudes
Toward their fellow Christians?
And, as is so common,

They have the floor
Or the podium
Or the pulpit.

Guide me, Father,
To bring only Your Light
To my conversations with them.

Allow me to utter
Only Your words,
And always, always help me
To leave the judging to You.

Use me where you can, Father,
And help me to see past their smallness
To find Your greatness in each of Your children.

Take My Anger, Part II

Take my anger, Father,
Take my unspoken enmity…

Those shame-filled moments
When I choose

Aversion over accommodation,
Antipathy over acceptance,
Isolation more than involvement,
Insulation more than exposure,
Alienation more than embrace.

Remind me that the weight of Your cross
Is only made heavier by my distain;

The burden of my emotion killing
From the inside out
Your Holy Spirit in my humanity.