Anger

Anger

God doesn’t use His to judge us.

(Gn 4:11-15) Cain was severely punished for this murder. God judges all sins and punishes appropriately, but not simply out of anger or vengeance. Rather, God’s punishment is meant to correct us and restore our fellowship with Him. When you’re corrected don’t resent it, instead renew your fellowship with God.

God’s anger versus God’s patience.

(Gn 19:24) In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see two faces of God’s character: his great patience (agreeing to spare a wicked city for ten good people) and His fierce anger (destroying both cities). As we grow spiritually, we should find ourselves developing a deeper respect for God because of His anger toward sin, and also a deeper love for God because of His patience when we sin.

Blinds us to our wrongdoing,

(Gn 27:41) Esau was so angry at Jacob that He failed to see his own wrong in giving away the birthright in the first place. Jealous anger blinds us from seeing the benefits we have and makes us dwell on what we don’t have.

Controlling it.

(Gn 27:41) When Esau lost the valuable family blessing, his future suddenly changed. Reacting in anger, he decided to kill Jacob. When you lose something of great value, or if others conspire against you and succeed, anger is the first and most natural reaction. But you can control your feelings by (1) recognizing your reaction for what it is, (2) praying for strength, and (3) asking God for help to see the opportunities that even your bad situation may provide.

Resulting from wounded pride.

(Nm 22:29) The donkey saved Balaam’s life but made Him look foolish in the process, so Balaam lashed out at the donkey. We sometimes strike out at blameless people who get in our way because we are embarrassed or our pride is hurt. Lashing out at others can be a sign that something is wrong with us. Don’t allow your own hurt pride to lead you to hurt others.

Using it constructively.

(1 Sm 11:6) Anger is a powerful emotion. Often it may drive people to hurt others with words or physical violence. But anger directed at sin and the mistreatment of others is not wrong. Saul was angered by the Ammonites’ threat to humiliate and mistreat his fellow Israelites. The Holy Spirit used Saul’s anger to bring justice and freedom. When injustice or sin makes you angry, ask God how you can channel that anger in constructive ways to help bring about a positive change.

(Mk 3:5) Jesus was angry about the Pharisees uncaring attitudes. Anger itself is not wrong. It depends on what we do with the anger.  Too often we expressed our anger in selfish and harmful ways. By contrast, Jesus expressed his anger by correcting a problem – healing the man’s hand. Use your anger to find constructive solutions rather than to tear people down.

(Eph 4:26-27) The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel angry, but it points out that it is important to handle our anger properly. If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. Paul tells us to deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds relationships rather than destroys them. If we nurse our anger, we will give Satan an opportunity to divide us. Are you angry with someone right now? What can you do to resolve your differences? Don’t let the day end before you begin to work on mending your relationship.

Why God was angry at Uzzah for touching the ark.

(2 Sm 6:6-7) Uzzah was only trying to protect the ark, so was God’s anger against Uzzah just? According to Numbers 4:5-15, the ark was to be moved only by the Levites, who were to carry it using the carrying poles – they were never to touch the ark itself. To touch it was a capital offense under Hebrew law (Numbers 4:15). God’s action was directed against both David and Uzziah. David placed the ark on a cart, following the Philistines example (1 Samuel 6:7-8) rather than God’s commands. Uzzah, though sincere in his desire to protect the ark, had to face the consequences of the sin of touching it. Also, Uzzah may not have been a Levite. As David sought to bring Israel back into a relationship with God. God had to remind the nation dramatically that enthusiasm must be accompanied by obedience to His laws. The next time David tried to bring the ark to Jerusalem, he was careful to handle it correctly (1 Chronicles 15:1-15).

Can lead to hatred and murder.

(1 Kgs 21:4) After hearing God’s judgment (20:42), Ahab went home to pout. Driven by anger and rebellion against God, he had a fit of rage when Naboth refused to sell his vineyard. The same feelings that led him to a career of power grabbing drove him to resent Naboth. Rage turned to hatred and led to murder. Naboth, however, wanted to uphold God’s laws; it was considered a duty to keep ancestral land in the family. The incident shows the cruel interplay between Ahab and Jezebel, two of the most wicked leaders in Israel’s history.

Learning from God’s

(Ps 30:5) Like a shot given by a doctor, the discomfort of God’s anger lasts only a moment, but the good effects go on for a long time. Let God’s anger be a sharp pain that warns you to turn from sin.

Takes our focus off God.

(Ps 37:8-9) Anger and worry (fretting) are two very destructive emotions. They reveal a lack of faith that we should share love with God and that He is in control. We should not worry, instead we should trust in God, giving ourselves to Him for His use and safekeeping. When you dwell on your problems, you will become anxious and angry. But if you concentrate on God and His goodness, you will find peace. Where do you focus your attention?

When God’s patience gives way to anger.

(Ps 74:1-2) God’s anger against Israel had grown hot during the many years of their sin and idolatry. His patience enduring for generations, but at last it was set aside for judgment. If you fall into sin and quickly seek God’s forgiveness, his mercy may come quickly and his anger may leave quickly. If you persist in sinning against Him, don’t be surprised when His patience runs out.

Danger of anger.

(Mt 5 21-22) Killing is a terrible sin, but anger is a great sin too because it also violates God’s command to love. Anger in this case refers to seething, brooding bitterness against someone. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to God. Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out and say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well. Jesus said that we will be held accountable even for our attitude.

When it is appropriate.

(Nm 25:10-11) It is clear from Phinehas’s story that some anger is proper and justified. Phinehas was angry because of his zeal for the Lord. But how can we know when our anger is appropriate and when it should be restrained? Ask these questions when you become angry: (1) Why am I angry? (2) Whose rights are being violated? If only your rights are at stake, it may be wiser to keep angry feelings under control. But if the truth is at stake, anger is often justified, although violence and retaliation are usually the wrong way to express it (Phinehas’s case was unique). If we are becoming more and more like God, we should be angered by sin.

(Jn 2:15-16) Jesus was obviously angry at the merchants who exploited those who had come to God’s house to worship. There is a difference between uncontrolled rage and righteous indignation – yet both are called anger. We must be very careful how we use the powerful emotion of anger. It is right to be angry about injustice and sin. It is wrong to be angry over trivial personal offenses.

(Jas 1:19-20) These verses speak of anger that erupts when our egos are bruised – “I am hurt.” “My opinions are not being heard.” When injustice and sin occur, we should become angry because others are being hurt. But we should not become angry when we feel offended or neglected. Selfish anger never helps anybody.

Why is God angry with sinful people?

(Rom 1:18) Why is God angry at sinful people? Because they have substituted the truth about Him with a fantasy of their own imagination (1:25). They have stifled the truth naturally reveals to all people in order to believe anything that supports their own self-centered life-styles. God cannot tolerate sin because His nature is morally perfect. He cannot ignore or condone such willful rebellion. God wants to remove the sin and restore the sinner – and he is able to, as long as the sinner does not stubbornly distrust or reject the truth. But His anger surges against those who persist in sinning. Make sure you are not pursuing a fantasy rather than the true God. Don’t suppress the truth about Him merely to protect your own life-style.

Determine why you are angry with others’ sins.

(Rom 2:1) Whenever we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someone’s sin, we should be careful. We need to speak out against sin, but we must do it in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sin in more socially acceptable forms. For example, a person who gossips may be very critical of others who gossip about him or her.

Venting it under the guise of discipline.

(2 Cor 2:11) Wed use church discipline to help keep the church pure and to help wayward people repent. But Satan tries to harm the church by tempting it to use discipline in an unforgiving way. This causes those exercising discipline to become proud of their purity, and it causes the person who is being disciplined to become bitter and perhaps leave the church entirely. We must remember that our purpose in discipline is to restore a person to fellowship, not to destroy him or her. We must be cautious that personal anger is not vented under the guise of church discipline.

Do you get angry when confronted?

(Gal 4:16) Paul did not gain great popularity when he rebuked the Galatians for turning away from their first faith in Christ. Human nature hasn’t changed much – we still get angry when we’re scolded. But don’t write off someone who challenges you. There may be truth in what he or she says. Receive his or her words with humility; carefully think them over. If you discover that you need to change an attitude or action, take steps to do it.

Don’t discipline out of anger.

(Eph 6:4) The purpose of parental discipline is to help children grow, not to exasperate and provoke them to anger or discouragement (see also Colossians 3;21). Parenting is not easy – it takes lots of patience to raise children in a loving Christ-honoring manner. But frustration and anger should not be causes for discipline. Instead parents should act in love, treating their children as Jesus treats the people He loves. This is vital to children’s development and to their understanding of what Christ is like.

Danger of words spoken in anger.

(Jas 3:6) James compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire – the tonque’s wickedness has its source in hell itself. The uncontrolled tongue can do to terrible damage. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and put them against one another. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We dare not be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire – you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.