Why do I get mad often?

Sincerely,
Short Fuse

Dear Short Fuse,

Uncontrolled rage, like so many sins, stems from within our hearts (Mk 7:21-23).  God warns that anger has a way of creeping up on us, and we must rule over it (Gen 4:6-7).  Eph 4:26 says that we should make sure that our anger doesn’t control our actions; it is okay to be angry, but it isn’t okay to sin (Eph 4:26).  One of the easiest ways to cool your temper is to be quick to hear and slow to speak (Jas 1:19-20).  Anger can be controlled by slowing down and listening before jumping to conclusions.

     How do you survive an unevenly yoked marriage, and if your marriage is unevenly yoked, can God yoke the relationship together?

Sincerely,
Just Surviving

Dear Just Surviving,

God says that we are ‘unevenly yoked’ when we deeply intertwine our life with an unbeliever (2 Cor 6:14).  A prime example of this is marriage.  There is no more intimate relationship on this planet than marriage (Gen 2:24), and when a Christian is married to a non-Christian, it can be extremely difficult.

If you are married to an unbeliever, things will be tough, but all things are possible through God (Lk 18:27).  Remember that your role is to be a light and sanctifying influence in your marriage (1 Cor 7:13-14).  It is your godly behavior that has the potential to lead your spouse to Christ.

Inversely, you must not let your spouse’s attitudes and priorities lead you away from the Lord.  Remember that your relationship with Christ comes first.  Stand firm in the faith (1 Cor 16:13).  Set your mind and purpose in your heart that you won’t skip church services (Heb 10:24-25), won’t compromise your morals for anyone, and you won’t let your love of Christ grow cold (Matt 24:12).  If you do that, the Lord will bless you, and your marriage will be blessed.

     I see things; I think God is contacting me; He wants me to do something, but I don't know what.  Please, please answer this and tell me what to do!

Sincerely,
Motivated

Dear Motivated,

What you need to do is go to church.  The days of dreams and visions have passed.  In the past, God spoke to various people through dreams, visions, and prophecy, but today, He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-2).  Now that we have the complete and perfect Bible there is no need for God to give people individual dreams or visions (1 Cor 13:9-10).  It is through the Word of God that we learn how to live faithfully (Rom 10:17).

We are sure that the things you are seeing mean something, but they don’t mean anything supernatural or prophetic.  Our guess is that you have a great deal of internal struggle in your life, and this is affecting your vision, your mind, and everything else.  The fact that you are writing into this site tells us that you are trying to put the pieces together and get help.  One of the things that we do here at AskYourPreacher is try to connect people with a desire for answers (such as yourself) with congregations near them that can help them find long-term relief.  If you would like us to do that, just e-mail us back at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will happily help in whatever way we can.

Hello; I'm wondering if a person is born with mental deformities and can't understand the concept of the Lord, will they still reach heaven?

Sincerely,
Heart For Others

Dear Heart For Others,

Those with mental handicaps would fall under the same rules as children.  In order to obey the gospel, we must have the maturity to:

1. Take responsibility for our sins (Acts 3:19).
2. Hear and understand the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
3. Be responsible for our own spiritual growth (1 Pet 2:1-2).

Children and those with certain mental handicaps do not have that ability, and God only holds us accountable for what we are able to do (2 Cor 8:11-12).  Just like children, they will go to heaven.

     My grandmother died this year; she was ninety-four years old.  She had two daughters.  In her will, she left the major portion of her estate to her younger daughter.  When my grandfather was alive, they had a living trust; their estate was divided equally between the two daughters.  My grandmother always favored her younger daughter and her family, and it was very noticeable to an outsider.  When the reading of the will was done, it hurt my mother, making her feel even more unloved.  My mother never did anything to deserve this.  My mother is a God-fearing Christian and has always done the right thing.  My aunt won't have a thing to do with my mother, which was another blow to my mother.  What does God think of a woman who would cause so much pain?

Sincerely,
Appalled

Dear Appalled,

Your question is a loaded one.  Realistically, we all cause others pain, and every story has two sides to it.  We won’t even begin to talk about the eternal fate of someone we’ve never even known.  After hearing your perspective, we can’t imagine why anyone would behave like that, but that is always the way you feel when you only hear one side of a story (Pr 18:17).

Jesus was once asked by two men to settle a family dispute about money, and His answer was, “Who made Me a judge or divider over you?” (Lk 12:13-14).  We would have to take the same tact – it isn’t our place to try and unravel family financial squabbles.

We are very sorry for your pain, and we are so sorry that your mother is hurting.  The best advice we can give is to not focus on what others think of us and remember that if we serve the Lord, He will cause all to work together for good (Rom 8:28).