Raging Hearts

   The term road rage has been added to our vocabulary quite recently. It names an alarming phenomenon in North America. Angry motorists shoot and kill-or deliberately chase down and crash their cars into-other drivers whom they believe have executed some inconsiderate or otherwise maneuver. This practice has become so much of a problem that the American Association of America ran a series of television ads to teach drivers’ both how to keep their cool and how to avoid becoming victims.

 

   Matthew tells us that the demoniac was furious and raging, attacking anyone who ventured to take the road past the tombs he inhabited. He was more like an animal than a human being. Likewise, I believe that when people lose their temper, they can be-at least temporarily-demon-possessed.

 

   The following story will help illustrate my reasons for this conviction: A young mother began watching some Amazing Facts TV programs and felt drawn to commit her life to Jesus. She began studying the Bible and believing the truth it contains. She told her live-in boyfriend that they must either marry or separate.

 

   This ultimatum infuriated the boyfriend. One evening, as the woman was nailing a copy of the Ten Commandments to the wall, he grabbed the hammer out of her hand and began bludgeoning her with it. The commotion caused their baby in the adjoining room to begin to cry. The man thinking he had killed his girlfriend went into the next room and killed the child. The couple’s landlord heard the noise and stormed in to see what was happening. When the enraged boyfriend charged him, the landlord shot and killed him.

 

   I learned of the terrible tragedy when the devastated young woman-who, miraculously, had survived with only minor injuries-contacted me. She called to ask if I would conduct the funeral for her baby, the boy whose father had murdered him because he last his temper.

 

   It was the fact that the father’s outburst happened when the mother posted the Ten Commandments on the wall that struck me most. I thought it to be significant evidence of the satanic inspiration of the whole incident. The devil especially hates the law of God because that law identifies sin. Scripture tells us that sin is the transgression of the law (see 1 John 3,4,KJV).

 

   We are truly living in the “age of rage.” People are simmering and seething inside. Ulcers and antacids are not the only byproducts of an angry world-every day, headlines are peppered with stories of people losing their tempers and committing some horrific act of violence against total strangers, fellow workers, or-even more commonly-members of their own families. *

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*It is perhaps little coincidence that the first act of murder recorded in the Bible happened when a man lost his temper and killed his brother  (see Genesis 4:3-8).

   We need to take note of this trend. Bible prophecy has warned us that in the last days, unbridled anger, tirades, and temper tantrums would become the norm. The apostle Paul said that anger is one of the fruits of the flesh. “The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath” (Galatians 5: 19, 20).

 

Anger Is Very Costly

   An Italian proverb warns, “Anger is a very expensive commodity.” The great maestro Toscanini was well known for his ferocious outbursts of anger. When members of his orchestra played badly, he would seize anything in sight and hurl it to the floor.

 

   During one rehearsal, someone played a flat note. Toscanini reacted by grabbing his own watch, which was very valuable, and smashing it beyond repair. Shortly after, he received from his devoted musicians a luxurious, velvet-lined box containing two watches-one, a beautiful timepiece; the other, a cheap watch on which was inscribed “For rehearsals only.”

 

   More recently, one talented athlete lost his temper and struck his coach, costing himself a thirty-two-million-dollar contract. And heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson “popped his cork” during one boxing match and proceeded to bite off a piece of his opponent’s ear! That outburst cost him millions. The last I heard, Tyson had squandered more than three hundred million dollars in winnings and was bankrupt.

 

   However, most people don’t lose that kind of money because of their anger. Therefore, some think a bad temper is just an inherited idiosyncrasy that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. As long as their tantrums occur infrequently, there is no need to worry. “Its just part of our nature,” they say. However, the Bible lists wrathful outbursts as one of the works of the flesh, which means that they are devil-inspired and not something to be taken lightly. We can’t pass them off jokingly by saying, “Well, that’s just the way my family is,” or, “I can’t help it-I’m Irish!” Biblically, uncontrolled anger is sin, and there is no excuse for sin.  

 

   While the Bible tells of no monetary losses because of anger, you will find in it stories of some other staggering costs associated with just a momentary loss of temper. For instance, although Moses experienced forty years of miracles, God did not permit him to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Why? Because he lost his temper on the very borders of Canaan. As Will Rogers said, “Don’t fly into a rage unless you are prepared for a rough landing.”

 

   Those who lose their tempers do not realize that they are at least momentarily demon-possessed. When you lose your temper, the devil is the one who finds it-and before you know it; you will be manifesting the fruits of the flesh. Countless marriages have died because someone in a delirious rage thoughtlessly spoke cutting words that they could not retract. Wars have started in which multiplied millions have perished because some ruler, in anger, made a rash decision. Conversely, Jesus is known for his self-composed meekness. Those who follow Him will-and should-model His gentle patience.

 

Anger Destroys Us

   As the myth goes, Sinbad and his sailors landed on a tropical island and saw, high up in the palm trees, coconuts that could quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. Unable to reach the coconuts, Sinbad and his men began throwing stones and sticks at some chattering monkeys high in the trees. Enraged, the monkeys plucked the coconuts and hurled them down at the men-exactly what Sinbad wanted.

 

   This is a good illustration of how when indulging our anger, we play into the devil’s hands.

 

   Thomas Kempis said, “When anger enters the mind, wisdom departs.” Someone else opined, “The less water in the pot, the quicker it boils.” Basically, a short fuse indicates a lack of wisdom. If you are constantly giving everybody “a piece of your mind,” eventually, you might not have any left-as the frustrated teacher once sputtered to her class, “You have made me so think, I can’t mad straight!” 

 

   I have heard some people say, “Losing your temper is good for your health. We all need to vent from time to time to let off some steam.” I do not believe that for a moment. In fact, the Bible teaches the opposite. When the king of Judah lost his temper in the house of God, he came down with leprosy. “Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:19).

 

    Often, anger actually does produce visible symptoms: a red face, swollen neck veins, clenched fists, and a stumbling for words. Harvard researcher Dr. Walter Cannon describes its more insidious, invisible symptoms:

 

   Respiration deepens, the heart beats more rapidly, the arterial pressure rises, the blood is shifted from the stomach and intestines to the heart, central nervous system, and the muscles; the processes of the alimentary canal cease, sugar is freed from the reserves in the liver, the spleen contracts and discharges its contents of concentrated corpuscles, and adrenaline is secreted. The angry person’s vision may be blurred, because angry clouds the visual centers of the brain.

 

   I sometimes wonder just how many people are physically ill because they are simmering or bitter inside. I know people spend millions of dollars on sedatives every year in the attempt to calm their raging hearts. The Bible says, “A merry heart does good like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). If that is true, it is probably safe to say that the opposite is true also-that anger, bitterness, and an unforgiving spirit can make a person sick.

 

   Christians must learn to release all their bitterness and anger through Jesus. He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

 

Neither could any man tame him.” –Mark 5:4, KJV

 

Taming a Wild Heart

   The flamboyant duo Siegfried and Roy had performed in the Mirage Hotel on the Las Vegas strip for nearly three decades. Hundreds of thousands of spectators had come to see their magic show, highlighted by the performance of very large and beautiful white tigers. Roy Horn spent many years training the giant cats to obey his commands. In his attempts to tame the beasts, he would go so far as to eat, swim, and sleep with them.

 

   Then, on October 3, 2003, without explanation, a seven-year old white tiger that had known Horn since it was a cub attacked him in front of a live audience on the magician’s fifty-ninth birthday. About halfway through the show, the tiger lunged at Horn and dragged him off the stage like a toy. Horn’s near fatal injuries will probably prevent him from ever continuing his animal act.

 

   The Bible teaches, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Our hearts are like unpredictable wild beasts; we do not and cannot know them.

 

   The prophet Balaam thought he could resist the rewards of King Balak, but he sold out through misguided rationalization. And Samson thought he could toy with and tease the temptress Delilah. He did not recognize the weakness in his own heart.

 

    When Jesus was here in person, Peter, one of the disciples closest to Him, thought he knew his own heart. Jesus warned him of his betrayal beforehand, but Peter vowed, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35). Of course, three times on that very night, Peter denied that he knew Jesus.

 

   We all struggle with these wild and unpredictable Jekyll-and Hyde swings of nature. Paul wrote, “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15, NLV). Human methods fail to transform, our selfish, rebellious, and depraved hearts. In fact, true conversion is not heart surgery, but rather a heart transplant. God has promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

 

   We cannot control our sinful nature. It is only when we follow Jesus’ heart to replace our corrupted hearts that the sin-nature can be brought into subjection. Only Jesus, as our Lord and Master, can tame the “old man” within us. “Then you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).  

“Always, night and day, he was…crying.” –Mark 5:5, KJV        

Always Crying

   After the first day of fighting in the Civil War battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, hundreds of wounded and bleeding Union soldiers lay crying on the battlefield. Artillery fire prevented their relief all though the night and most of the second day of the conflict, so every moment the soldiers on the battle lines could hear their agonized cries, “Water! Water!”

 

   Always restless, always wailing, like dark waves that rolled from his captive heart through his vocal cords, came the demoniac’s constant mournful cries. Echoes of the continual cries of this poor, lost soul will roll throughout the universe from those unhappy souls who will be eternally separated from God’s presence. “The king said to his servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 22:13).” ‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 48:22).

 

   According to commentator Kenneth S. Wuest, the word crying indicates “a loud scream or shriek.”*  Can you imagine the awful fear that must have possessed the townspeople as the blood-curding, animalistic screams of the demoniac echoed eerily through the mountains and awakened them in the stillness of the night?

 

   In his book The Valiant Papers, Calvin Miller wrote, “Crying is common in this world…Laughter can be heard here and there, by and large, weeping predominates. With maturity the sound, reason for crying changes, but never does it stop. All infants do it everywhere even in public. By adulthood most crying is done alone and in the dark.” 

 

   Miller’s thoughts find substantiation in the Bible. Paul observed, “We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22, KJV). However, let us return to the story of the Union soldiers wailing on the battlefield, as told through the pen of John W. Halliday:

 

   Soon a noble Southern soldier, Sergeant Richard Kirkland, rose above the love for his own life, and told General Kershaw, “I can’t stand this any longer! Those poor souls have been crying and crying all night and all day, and it is more than I can bear! I ask your permission to go and given them water.”

 

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   *Wuest’s Word Studies From the Greek New Testament, pg. 101.

 

    “But as soon as you show yourself to the enemy,” warned the general, “you will be shot!” “Yes, sir,” the soldier answered. “But to carry a little comfort to those poor dying men, I’m willing.”

 

   The general hesitated, but his heart was also touched with his subordinate’s same sympathy. “Kirkland, it’s sending you to your death, but I cannot oppose such a motive as yours. I hope God will protect you. Go.”

 

   So the brave soldier, furnished with a supply of water, stepped over the stone rampart and began his work of Christ-like mercy. Wondering eyes beheld him as he knelt by the nearest sufferer, tenderly raised his head, and held the refreshing cup to his parched lips. Every soldier in the blue Union line understood the tender mission of the man in gray, and not one shot was fired. For over an hour, one after another of the crying, wounded and dying was given the refreshing drink, had his cramped or mangled limbs straightened, and covered with his coat or blanket as tenderly as though by his own mother.

 

   So also it is on life’s great battlefield, where souls are crying and dying from the fearful effects of sin. They are thirsty for the water of life, with none to reach out to them the refreshing draft they so crave, except the One stepped over the ramparts of heaven and came down to risk His all on the cross of Calvary to rescue them from their sins by giving them the water of everlasting life.

 

   Henry Ward Beecher said, “God washes the eyes by tears until they ca hold the invisible land where tears shall be no more.” There, Jesus will come and wipe the tears from our eyes. “Surely he has borne our grief’s, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).

 

    For the lost, there is always crying within. As the demoniac, so are the unsaved. However, there is very good news for the Christian: this crying is not chronic. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

 

“Always, night and day, he was…cutting himself with stones.” –Mark 5:5, KJV

 

Cutting Ourselves

   Doctors say that self-mutilation is on the rise as a medical problem. It is defined, as any form of compulsive self-harm to the body not intended to produce death. It is often performed to release emotional pain, anger, or anxiety; to rebel against authority; or to feel in control. Some common forms of self-mutilation are: cutting the skin with a sharp object (the most common), burning the skin, picking at the skin, punching one’s self, sticking one self’s with a needle, banging the head, pressing the eyes, biting the fingers or arms, and pulling one’s own hair.

 

   Most of us would be quick to recognize that people in the practice of cutting themselves or gouging themselves with rocks and knives have a severe mental or emotional disturbance, but these practices are no more common than the injurious forms of religious zealotry. In 1973, an overzealous Roman Catholic, Patrice Tamao, of the Dominican Republic, allowed himself to be crucified as thousands watched on television. Patrice had three 6-inch stainless-steel nails driven through his hands and feet. He intended to stay on the cross for forty-eight hours; but when an infection developed, he requested to be taken down. He’d been crucified for twenty hours. It appears that the demoniac was also trying to atone for his sins with his own blood. If Jesus had not delivered him, he might have even bled to death.

 

   This practice of trying to gain merit with God by inflicting physical punishment on one’s self lies at the foundation of many false religions. In some cases, the worshipers might flog themselves or make long pilgrimages on bloody knees. Whatever the case, any effort we make to atone for our sins by punishing ourselves amounts to nothing more than cutting ourselves with stones. Such efforts are about as effective as it would be if airline passengers were to try to help the pilots of a luxury 747 by flapping their arms as the plane flew across the ocean.

 

   The apostle Paul wrote, “Though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). And he reminded us that such an attitude is horribly misguided: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

 

   In fact, any effort we make to atone for our sins by deliberately inflicting suffering on ourselves is an insult to the sacrifice and suffering’s of God’s Son.

 

Body Piercing

   More than any other time in American history, people today are mutilating their bodies in a misguided sacrifice to the god of fad and fashion. Multiple ear piercing, eyebrow and nose rings, and tongue studs all testify to the self-destructive influence the devil exerts on our culture. My heartaches for the young people of our generation, and some older ones too, who seem oblivious to the pagan and satanic history of body piercing and tattoos. 

 

    Scripture tells us what happened when the devil-worshiping prophets of Baal tried to attract the attention of their gods by mutilating their bodies. “They cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out of them” (1 Kings 18:28). God warns strongly that we are not to follow this example. “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor take too many marks on you: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28). In fact, the Bible plainly teaches that our bodies are the temple of God, and “if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3: 16, 17). 

 

   Imagine a gang of vandals spraying obscene graffiti on the side of a beautiful cathedral, gouging the pure while marble walls with a jackhammer, or hurling stones through the luminous stained-glass windows. This is what the devil wants us to do to our bodies, which are to be God’s holy property and dwelling place. “I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God “ (Romans 12: 1,2).

 

   A rattlesnake trapped by fire can become so frenzied that it will actually bite itself with its deadly fangs. Likewise, many who follow the devil have an inner sense of their impending doom, and they frequently lash out by hurting themselves. Satan, who knows that his time is short, wants to take down with him as many as he can (Revelation 12:12). One of the best ways he best serves this purpose is by leading people to destroy themselves.

 

   Humans are just pawns in the great cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan. Ultimately, the devil’s hatred for humans is an extension of his rabid hatred for Jesus. He knows how much Jesus loves the human race; he knows better than we do how much the Son of God gave up when He came to earth in the form of a man to redeem us. Remember, Satan once lived as an unfallen being in the presence of the Almighty.

 

   Satan’s preoccupation with body piercing might even come from the piercing wounds Jesus received from the thorns, nails, and a spear. Satan may not understand why Jesus loves us as He does, but he knows the depths of His love. And he recognizes that he can best grieve the Lord by hurting those He loves. He will do whatever it takes, even demon-possession, to make sure we never see Jesus’ love for us. We will talk more about this in the next section.

 

Trading Places

   There’s a story about two Filipino brothers, identical twins, who lived in Manila and made their living by driving jeepneys, Filipino taxis. Though they were twins and had similar jobs, they lived very different lives. One was married and had children; the other was single. Then one day, the married brother accidentally struck and killed a tourist with his taxi. Accused of reckless driving, the twin was sentenced to twenty years in the notorious Manila prison-devastating fate that would leave his wife and children without an income.

 

   One day, his twin came in to visit him in prison. He said, “Brother, your family desperately needs you. Put on my clothes and take my visitor’s pass and I will put on your prison uniform and serve the rest of your sentence. Go to your family.” So, while the guards were not looking, the twins exchanged clothes, and the married brother walked out of the prison unchallenged. Do you think the twin who was freed could ever stop thinking about the sacrifice that his brother made in trading places with him?

 

    I would be remiss if I left this section dealing with the vivid symbols of sin found in the demoniac story without addressing one of the most crucial ones. The condition of the lost madman presents the ultimate picture of sin: the demoniac was poor, naked, unclean, separated from God, tormented by devils, and dwelling near death.

 

   Did you catch that, friend? Do you see where I am going? I just described the condition of Jesus on the cross! When our Lord suffered and died for our sins, He embraced the experience of the lost.

 

   “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus experienced the shame and nakedness of the demoniac so that His rich robes might clothe us.

 

   “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 5). Like the madman, Jesus was tortured and tormented by legions of evil angels. He was separated form humans and God that he might restore our relationships with our Lord and our neighbor. The demoniacs hands and feet were scarred by those who tried to confine him-as Jesus’’ hands and feet were wounded by those who fastened Him to the cross.   

 

   We can go further. Just as unclean pigs surrounded the demoniac, dogs surrounded Jesus. “Dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet” (Psalm 22:16). “Then some began to spit on Him” (Mark 14:65).  Covered with blood and spit, Jesus became unclean.

 

   And just as the demoniac lived by a burial ground, so Jesus was crucified near a cemetery. “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid” (John 19:41).   

 

   Jesus took our weakness that we might have His strength. He was separated from God and human beings that we might be united. He took the humiliation that we deserve and offered us the glory that was His.

 

   Christ was treated, as we deserve, that we might be treated, as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death that was ours, that we might receive the life that was His. With His stripes, we are healed. *

 

When Jesus saved and liberated the demoniac from his wretched condition, He was in effect saying, “I will soon take your misery upon myself.”

 

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   *Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1940), 25.       

 

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