Articles
Beware of Anger
1. The Problem of Anger– Anger is one of those emotions that we can all relate to. We know it when we see it, we’ve felt it, but can you explain it? What is anger? Here’s a definition: The emotion of instant displeasure and indignation arising from the feeling of injury done or intended, or from the discovery of offense against law.That’s a pretty good definition but let me ask you another question, is anger a sin? Is being angry a sin? The Bible says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil” (Eph. 4:26-27). Anger in and of itself is not sinful. “Anger is sinful when it rises too soon, without reflection; when the injury that awakens it is only apparent; when it is disproportionate to the offense; when it is transferred from the guilty to the innocent; when it is too long protracted and becomes revengeful.”The problem lies in how we respond to it and how we deal with it. Genesis 4:3-8 is a great example of this. When anger was fully played out in Cain's life, it led to murder. He killed his innocent brother. It had nothing to do with retaliation for what his brother Abel had done to him, but everything to do with Cain's anger toward God and toward himself. God reached out to Cain and asked him a simple question: Why are you angry? God knew the answer, but he wanted Cain to consider the question. Cain, why are you angry? Do you have a good reason? And if he really (and here’s the key word) THOUGHT about it he would have realized that he didn’t have a good reason. God stepped in and tried to help but Cain had a choice to make and he chose to take his anger and cultivate it. He lit a fire under it. He opened up the door for sin and he gave the devil an opportunity to use him. When you cultivate anger, add a d in front of it and you get danger. As a result of this cultivated process, he killed his brother Abel.
2. Keeping Anger Under Control– Anger can be a big problem. It can cause division, it can cause hate, and it can destroy relationships and the like. But it doesn’t have to. We cannot allow our anger to keep us in check, we must take control of it and put it in check. We need to put things into perspective. Anger is a powerful force that must be controlled. Anger that is uncontrolled is more powerful than the person whom anger possesses. How do you do that? It sounds a lot easier when you say it, but I just can’t do it. A lot of us feel that way sometimes. And the truth is there is no simple fix. There isn’t a one or two step process that I can just give you to correct anger and the rage you may feel at a certain point in time. However, keeping anger under control isn’t impossible. God has given us sufficient help and avenues to deal with such matters. We may get angry and we start developing evil thoughts, and we are just so tempted to hit that person or let a word slip out that shouldn’t. You might say but I have a breaking point and when I reach that point I just can’t control it. Remember this: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”(1 Cor. 10:13). Just like in Cain’s situation where God stepped in to try and help Cain see reason, He does the same with ustoo. What’s they key? THINKING and CONSIDERING. Have you ever seen someone so angry that they can’t even see straight, and they go and do something terrible and you later ask them why did you do that? 9/10 times what’s the response that you will get? I wasn’t THINKING! Anger became their master and they didn’t think and consider the consequences.“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jam. 1:19-20). Think, don’t be negative. Think about what’s more important. Is your soul more important, or just being able to win that fight or getting back at that person? Request help from God (prayer) and others. Surround yourself with folks that encourage you and make you better not bitter. After all that’s why God gave us this spiritual family. Train yourselves. If this is something you struggle it, you won’t take care of it overnight. Pray and train yourselves. If you find yourself in a volatile situation then find an exit. Learn to temper your temper. Have self-control.
3. Turning Anger into a Positive– Everything we’ve talked about this far about anger has been mostly on the negative. Let me show you how we can take anger and turn it into a positive. A positive? But I thought anger was bad. “And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (Mark 3:5). Jesus was angry. Was He wrong? Was that bad? What was the reason? SIN. Hardness of hearts. Jesus’ anger was for unbelief and hardened hearts. His anger was dealt in love for another. The anger of God, the anger of Jesus is the response of His holiness to the outbreak of sin. “The anger attributed to God in the bible is that part of God that stands in opposition to man’s disobedience, obstinacy (especially in resisting the gospel), and sin, and manifests itself in punishing the same.” We should follow Jesus’ example and we should be angry when we sin and when we see our brother committing sin. I wonder, if we exerted the same energy and intensity in our anger when we sin and disappoint God and fall short of His glory in the same way we do when we don’t get what we want, then maybe we would be better Christians, better people for God in a heartbeat! Anger can in fact be channeled in the right manner. In the right direction.
Be angry when you mess up, when you sin, and use that as a motivation to be better. To improve in your relationship to God. So, turn anger into a positive, by lifting up yourself when you fall and leaving that disappointment and that sin behind and mold yourselves in the image of Jesus, who committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth. If we do this, we will draw closer to God and ultimately draw closer to Heaven!
