Rev. Fr. Cyril Udom, Associate Priest, Christ the King Catholic Church, Kurudu, Abuja, has urged Christians to avoid bearing anger and always forgive one another to promote peaceful coexistence.
He made the call in a sermon on Sunday at Saint Joseph Mukassa Catholic Church, Gidan Mangoro, Abuja.
In the sermon, he decried the attitude of bearing grudges and nursing anger and wrath for another, adding that total forgiveness could avert destruction and damage.
Udom advised Christians to endeavour to forgive an offender to obtain mercies of God.
Quoting Sirach 27:30-28:7, he said “anger and wrath are abominations and the sinful man will possess them.
“He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord and he will firmly establish his sins.
“Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.”
He noted that harbouring anger could also lead to crises and health-related problems, including insomnia, headache and high blood pressure.
He added that “apart from that when we are angry, we allow the devil to use us and become a working tool to achieve an evil deed.”
Quoting Ephesians 4:26, he said: “be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”
According to him, anger can lead to various kinds of sins and atrocities.
He said the problem was not anger itself, but what to do when angry.
He, however, noted that for one to overcome problems resulting from anger, outright forgiveness, working on oneself spiritually and responding well to the situation was necessary.
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