First of all, anger is not always sinful. We know that
because the Bible says that God, that is both the Father and the Son, got angry
on a few occasions and we know He does not sin. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do
not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in
all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Let’s consider examples of
times when God was angry. In Exodus
32 God was angry with Israel Egypt Exodus 32:9-10 says, “And the
LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked
people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them
and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” Isaiah 13 speaks of a time when God’s
anger comes upon the sins of man saying, “Therefore I will shake the heavens,
and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and
in the day of His fierce anger.” Mark
3:1-5 tells us that Jesus got angry at the Pharisees for their
hardness of heart when He showed mercy and cured the man with the withered hand.
In every case when God is angry, it is a righteous anger. That is anger over
sin and injustice, when the Holy Name or Person of God is demeaned, mistreated
or abused in the thoughts, words or actions of men. Righteous anger is when
something that is holy is defiled.
That we can be angry without committing sin is also clearly
evident in Ephesians 4:26-27 ,
“’Be angry, and do not sin’”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor
give place to the devil.” That contains a quote of Psalm
4:4 , where the Spirit counsels David about responding to the evil
committed by other men, “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart
on your bed, and be still.” I dare say that most of the time we humans
get angry, it is not righteous but unrighteous anger. Unrighteous anger is
sinful and involves some form of pride or self-centeredness. If I get angry
when things don’t go my way, it is unrighteous anger and sin. If I get angry
when I am facing the just consequences of something I deserve, it is sinful
anger. When I respond to sinful anger with my own, that too is unrighteous
anger. The Spirit through Paul lists anger as acts of the sinful nature (see Galatians 5:19 -21 . Proverbs 29:22 says, “An angry man stirs up strife, and a
furious man abounds in transgression,” while 29:11 tells us, “A fool vents all
his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” You know how it is. You’re just
minding your own business and doing your thing, and next thing you know someone
is ruffling your feathers, either getting on your case or getting on your
nerves. If you get angry, it is most likely that your case and your nerves are
rattled because something is not going your way. That is prideful and that is
sin.
So what do we do? We know it’s wrong. I doubt many people want
to be angry all the time; that is a hard way to live and it takes years off
your life. Yes, your life is shortened either because of the harm you are doing
to yourself or the harm your anger invites by mouthing off to the wrong person.
You know what I’m talkin’ about.
What we must do is rid ourselves of anger. That is the
command given by God in Colossians
3:8 , “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” Also in Ephesians 4:31-32 God says,
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from
you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
That is easy enough, right? Hardly, in fact it is impossible
to obey those commands unless the Holy Spirit is in us. As a believer in Jesus
Christ you are given the Holy Spirit who works to make you more like Jesus as
you yield your life to His control. That’s the whole thing, being under the
influence of the Holy Spirit is the only way to overcome anger, as well as
resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, and general human crabbiness. That
is what Galatians 5:16-26
is all about. I strongly encourage you to read it. Now.
One of the things the Spirit will do as you yield yourself
more and more to His control can be found in James 1:19-20 , “So then, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” If you
struggle with anger, normally or just now that you’re trapped at home, being
swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger is something the Spirit of God will
certainly help you do. You can try it on your own, but you’ll just end up
getting angry. I know that because unrighteous anger and pride go hand in hand.
If you are so prideful that you think you can stop the anger without totally depending
upon Him, then that pride will repeatedly rear its ugly head and wham! You’ll
be angry. Also, you’ve heard it said that you shouldn’t let the sun go down on
your anger, don’t sleep on it; that’s good advice because it came from God (see
Ephesians 4:26 ).
So what if you aren’t the problem? Yeah right, ‘cause you’re
always the innocent one I suppose? Anyway, let’s say you are dealing with
someone who does struggle with anger (that’s code for struggling with pride by
the way). First of all, pray and ask the Spirit to help you cope and not
get angry or resentful in return. Ask Him to help you respond in a Godly
way. Proverbs 15:1
says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 20:22 adds, “Do not say, ‘I will recompense
evil;’ wait for the LORD, and He will save you.” Pray for (not against) the
person, asking God to do a work in their heart that you cannot do, and for Him
to guard your heart in the process.
You know the most effective means of dealing with anger?
It’s forgiveness. You can avoid being angry by forgiving instead of getting mad
for the injustice done to you; you can deal with someone else’s anger most
effectively through forgiveness. Does that come naturally or is it a character
trait you can instill yourself? No, just like not being angry, forgiveness is a
fruit of the Spirit.
The bottom line is this, the best way to deal with anger
(and unforgiveness) is yielding to Jesus and the Holy Spirit
May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and fill your
heart and mind with peace,
Pastor Mark
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