Anger is a part of life; just don’t let it carry you into
sin.
Scripture Tells Us to
be Slow to Anger
“Control your temper, for anger
labels you a fool.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT)
“Understand this, my dear brothers
and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get
angry.” (James 1:19 NLT)
“26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control
you.” Don’t let the sun go down while
you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” (Ephesians
4:26-27 NLT)
Solomon wrote: “Sensible people control their temper; they
earn respect by overlooking wrongs.” (Proverbs 19:11 NLT)
“Better to be patient than
powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” (Proverbs 16:32
NLT)
“31 Get rid of all bitterness,
rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just
as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT)
Did Jesus Get Angry?
Yes! There are two
instances in the Bible that I know of in which Jesus got angry in his earthly
life.
One was when Jesus cleared the temple of all the people
buying and selling there.
Matthew 21:12-13: “12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to
drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked
over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13
He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of
prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
The other is when Jesus encountered a man with a deformed
hand and His critics planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath if he were
to heal him. Jesus looked at them
angrily and healed the man.
Mark 3:1-6 NLT: “1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and
noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies
watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of
working on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to
the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then
he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the
Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to
destroy it?” But they wouldn't answer him.
5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard
hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his
hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the
supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.”
Jesus’ anger here was unselfish anger. His anger was a response to things that
blocked God’s salvation and kindness from reaching lives. Jesus was not acting out of a sense of being
threatened. He was angry at the illness,
sin and oppression.
The Issue is Not
Anger
The real issue is not anger, but how much we allow our anger
to control us. Our issue is
self-control. Being slow to anger is a
mark of strength.
What to Do When We
Are Angered
The best way to handle angry feelings is to tell God about
them. God knows us better than we know
ourselves. We will ALWAYS find Him to be
understanding. Being in God’s presence
calms us. It also helps us to see things
in their proper perspective. Many times
we will discover that the very things we were disturbed or angry about really
weren't that important after all.
Some problems are not worth being angry about. Learn to distinguish serious issues from
unimportant ones. If it isn't serious or
important, then forget it, let it go, and go on.
If the problem is important enough to be justifiably angry,
then use your anger constructively to work on the problem. Blowing up, attacking someone, or holding
grudges are wrong actions. When we see
that our anger is starting to get the better of us, we don’t have to react
negatively. We don’t have to despair or
recoil. Repent of it and reject the
anger. The proper way to be angry and
not sin is to use your natural energy to work on the problem. Most anger is resolved through forgiveness.
Think before you speak or act. Analyze the situation, get all the facts, and
consider the consequences of what you might say or do. Maybe take a walk or get away from the situation
for a bit. Take time to calm down and
think. Be sure you are in control of
yourself and you are calm before reacting.
Don’t suppress or bottle up your anger. Anger that is kept inside hurts us and keeps
us hurting. It can turn to resentment
and bitterness. It can bring on
depression as well as many kinds of physical illnesses. You must address your anger.
Determine what happened that angered you. The issue isn't who angered you, but what
happened to anger you. Distinguish the
act from the person. Hate the sin, but
love the sinner. Hurting the other
person back will not help the matter.
Seek to destroy the bad conduct, but help the person who committed it.
Talk to the person who caused the problem for the purpose of
working out a solution. Speak with
genuine concern. Speak to help, not to
hurt. Be willing to listen to the other
person. Don’t be too quick to rush to
judgment. Jumping to conclusions makes
us run the risk of speaking hastily.
Take the time to listen carefully, understand the other
person(s)/situation(s) before jumping to conclusions and/or anger.
I've Lashed Out in
Anger
If you have said or done something in anger, make amends and
ask for forgiveness. Repent to God and
ask His forgiveness.
“Heavenly Father, may
we all be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Change our behavior to embrace tenderhearted
feelings, kindness, a gentle mind and patience.
Open our eyes to see one another the way You do. I pray that instead of being angry, we will
act in love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
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