Hot Spots

They're the annoying memories from the past. The worst are the "hot spots" the ones that get me angry all over again. Why is that?

The Bible indirectly tells us that our anger can lead to sin (Psalm 4:4), and I think it's even worse when it comes through from the past.

Just like acid reflux, I have a problem with "anger reflux." I get annoyed or irritated or frustrated by things that happened to me in the past. I'm sure that part of this is because I'm human. I have the same problems that everybody else who puts up with anger has.

I call "anger reflux" a "hot spot." Have you ever thought about an argument that happened a long time ago, or have you ever been offended a long time ago? When you remember it again, does it still get you angry? That's what I call a "hot spot." It's when I get angry all over again.

I can't let that control my (inverted) life, because then my anger gets the best of me, and worse things could happen (Genesis 4:6-7). In the passage I just linked, Cain is angry because God does not accept his sacrifice. God warns Cain about this anger.

It's already bad enough, detrimental enough to me, to do bad things when I am angry. It's even worse to let a memory get me angry as a "hot spot."

The inverted life is a forgiving life. That means that I have to forgive others when they offend me. But I have come to learn that "forgiving" is not just a one-time action that gets finished as soon as it starts, "forgiving" is an ongoing decision requiring time and prayer.

Yes, when I first forgive a person, it counts for now and forever with God. But if I dredge up the memory of that incident, I must point out to myself that I already forgave that incident! It must be as forgiven now as it was when it first happened, no matter how long ago it happened, and no matter how many times it got repeated.

Matthew 18:21-35 tells us what Jesus has to say about forgiving sins, and how it has to be "from [my] heart."

Eventually the hot spots cool off, but I have found that reminding myself that something is already forgiven cools it off a lot faster.