“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” Mark 8:35 (NLT)
In my last post I looked at two ways to develop a heart like Jesus. Today I'm going to look at two more ways.
If I want to have a heart like Jesus—this next one may shock me. Not only do I have to care about what Jesus cares about and be indifferent to what Jesus is indifferent to, I must get angry about what Jesus gets angry about.
I tend to think anger is a sin. The wrong kind of anger is sinful but there’s good anger and bad anger. There’s righteous anger and there’s unrighteous anger. Unrighteous anger is selfish, self-centered anger—the kind I feel when someone hurts me, frustrates me, or makes me afraid.
But righteous anger comes from a place of love. When I see people suffering while others have far more than they need, I ought to get angry about that. When I see injustice, poverty, and prejudice, I ought to get angry about that.
In fact, the Bible makes this point in Ephesians 4:26. It says, “Be angry without sinning” (GW).
Jesus got angry when children’s needs weren’t being met. In The Message paraphrase, he said, “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom” (Mark 10:13-14).
Jesus also got angry when human suffering—especially of the poor or vulnerable—was ignored. He said, “Woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them” (Luke 11:46 NIV). God is love—but he is also just. And when he sees injustice in the world, he gets angry—and so should I.
Lastly, follow Jesus’ example of sacrifice. He said it very clearly: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV).
Here’s the amazing thing: If I make the switch from living for myself, to sacrificing for Jesus and his purposes, my happiness will go off the charts. Why? Because God wired us in a way that as we become more like him—generous and unselfish—the happier we get. It’s as simple as this: If I live for myself, I'll be miserable. If I give my life away, I'll be happy.
Jesus spent his time on earth helping people get right with God and right with each other. That’s worth making sacrifices for.
God wants me to develop a heart like his. And as I do, I'll find real life: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it” (Mark 8:35 NLT).
In summary:
Jesus teaches that real life is found not in holding tightly to my own desires but in giving myself fully to God’s purposes. To develop a heart like His, I must not only care about what Jesus cares about and stay indifferent to what doesn’t matter, but also allow myself to feel righteous anger toward injustice, suffering, and the mistreatment of the vulnerable—just as He did. This kind of anger is rooted in love, not selfishness, and moves me to act with compassion. Finally, following Jesus means embracing a life of sacrificial service, just as He “came not to be served but to serve.” When I stop living for myself and start giving my life away for Jesus and the Good News, I discover the surprising truth: unselfish living leads to deep joy, and sacrificing for what matters most is where real life is found.
Bottom line:
Real life is found not in living for myself, but in aligning my heart with Jesus—caring about what He cares about, rejecting what doesn’t matter, standing against injustice, and living a life of sacrificial love.
Next step:
Choose one area that stirs righteous anger in you—poverty, neglected children, inequity, isolation, spiritual disconnection, or broken relationships. Commit to a practical action this week: serving, giving, mentoring, advocating, or partnering with an organization.
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