Anger

I would bet that most people, if asked, would say they have anger issues… The truth is, anger is an emotion that everyone has and it actually does serve a purpose.

Ephesians 4:26–27 CSB

26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity.

Ephesians 4:26–27 The Message

26 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. 27 Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

There are things to be angry about. Violence, racism, those things should make you angry… Anger protects you when you are in danger.

So we know anger is not inherently bad, the bible says to be angry… I would bet that there are more verses about not being angry than there are about being angry.

The book of proverbs says this

Proverbs 14:29 The Message

29 Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding; a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.

Tell me, when has responding in anger ever made the person you are talking to see your way?

When you are angry you stop listening. You assume.

Proverbs 15:1 The Message

1 A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.

If you have ever worked in retail or customer service you have a real world example of how true this verse is… I work with students with behavioral issues…this is how we keep them calm.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 The Message

9 Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

We saw over the last two years how anger can make you look foolish… politics has shown us that.

Matthew 5:21–22 The Message

21 “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ 22 I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.

Words are powerful. Add anger to them and they can become weapons… That type of anger leads to a life of death.

Remember that God does not tell us to never be angry, but in your anger do not sin… Before you act on your anger, pause. Really stop and think about why you are angry. Is there any love there.

I had a friend who wanted to confront another friend about…I asked, are you doing this out of love?

Ephesians 4:31–32 The Message

31 Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. 32 Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Ever needed forgiving?…When we pause, when we stop before we act on anger we can ask ourselves these questions. Why am I doing this? Is this out of love? Is this righteous anger? Or am I trying to be god? Stop and remember the times you needed forgiveness. The times you were the target of anger.

Romans 12:17–19 The Message

17 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. 18 If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. 19 Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

God can handle all of your problems… there is nothing imaginable that god can not handle. Let him handle your anger.

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