We all get angry. Jesus got angry. God gets angry. Is anger ever justified? When is it right & when is it wrong? Is it wrong not to be angry about some things? When should we express it & when should we swallow our anger? How should we express our anger? There are many good questions regarding anger. I have struggled with many of these questions on several occasions. My initial reaction was to feel guilty about being angry. After all, shouldn’t a good Christian be able to face just about anything & say, “well, that’s okay. I’m not going to be upset or angry about it because I’m a Christian.” This dilemma in feelings about being angry is a good reason to do some Bible research & some soul searching as well.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE WHAT DOES THE BIBLE

SAY ABOUT SAY ABOUT ANANGERGER ?? What does the Bible tell us about anger? If you look up the verses relating to anger, you’ll see a couple of themes running through all of them. First, anger is a legitimate emotion & response. The Bible is full of references to the anger of God, how he was provoked to anger, & because of his anger he did certain things & didn’t do other things.

There were several occasions when Jesus displayed obvious anger towards hypocrites & evil practices. Eph. 4:26 says, “Be angry, & sin not…” Therefore, it is not necessarily wrong for us to be angry. Anger can be justified.

Second, anger is an emotion that has to be very carefully controlled. While it may not be wrong to be angry, it is wrong to rush into anger & it is wrong to harbor anger. In James 1:19-20 we read, “Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” & Eph. 4:26 goes on to tell us “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Hasty anger will almost always be out of control & inappropriate. Harbored anger will quickly develop into bitterness & malice & all kinds of ugly things. So, two key principles from scripture are; anger is not always wrong, but it is wrong to be easily angered & to harbor anger.

WHEN IS ANGER RIGHT?WHEN IS ANGER RIGHT?

WHEN IS IT WRONG?WHEN IS IT WRONG?

The question is, when is anger right & when is it wrong? Since James says that “Man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” we see right away that there is a difference between man’s anger & God’s anger. What’s the difference?

Well, when we are angry for strictly personal reasons, then we need to be very suspicious of that anger. It’s interesting that Jesus did not display anger when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, nor at his mock trial. He had every reason to be angry at the injustice being done to him, but he showed no signs of anger then. But he angrily threw the moneychangers out of the

temple because of their desecration, & he expressed anger at the callousness of the religious leaders who were proud & self-righteous.

Let’s get this down to where you & I live. Is it right to be angry when someone has hurt your feelings? Suppose a co-worker treats you indifferently, doesn’t invite you to join in for certain activities, or seems to purposely do things to hurt you. Are you justified to feel angry in that kind of situation? What about when someone doesn’t do their job correctly & that causes you some problems?

I will admit that I find the questions above are difficult to answer. Everything in me wants to say, “Of course you have the right to be angry.” But when I look at the biblical principle regarding anger, maybe the answer is different. What is the principle? Anger is justified when it is directed at evil or wrong, not at people, & when it is not simply because we have been hurt or inconvenienced, but when there is a larger picture to consider. If you have been feeling angry lately, remember that James says, it will do more harm than good to be angry for the wrong reasons.

We know that getting angry quickly is not right. Ps. 103:8 says that “The Lord is compassionate & gracious, slow to anger & abounding in loving kindness.” While God is sometimes angry, this verse says He is more importantly compassionate, gracious & abounding in lovingkindness.

Therefore, I have to be slow to anger, while abounding – which means overflowing – in kindness, love & compassion for those people who make me angry. As I look back on occasions when I have been angry, I have to confess that I was not always abounding in kindness toward those people. I was in many cases much more concerned with the problems they had caused me.

THE APPLICATION: THE APPLICATION: IT IS POIT IS POSSIBLE TO SSIBLE TO WIN WIN OVER ANGER!OVER ANGER!

The Bible says, “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, & it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” (Prov. 19:11)

Has someone provoked you to anger lately? If you choose not to express that anger but rather, by God’s grace, to overlook the transgression, it will be for you a glory – an admirable thing, a beautiful thing.

As I look back, I think that there have been times when I could have & should have overlooked a transgression. While I might have been justified in expressing my anger, it would have been an admirable thing, in some situations, to overlook the transgression – to just let it go without getting my pound of flesh or my day in court. I think I have missed out on some “glory” because I wasn’t willing to overlook the transgression. In retrospect, I would rather have the glory than the opportunity of venting my anger.

Remember too, that anger dissipates with time; what is making you very angry right this very minute may look quite different in two hours. Also, anger is much stronger when we are tired or when we our bodies are not in such good condition. That’s why we must be very SLOW to be or to get angry

Now, I’m certainly not saying that we should never express our anger. Definitely not! If you harbor anger & it needs to be expressed & isn’t, it will quickly deteriorate into something worse. Paul told the Ephesians not to let the sun go down on their anger. So, while we should not rush into outbursts of anger, we should not postpone it for long periods of time either. Don’t sleep with anger inside you. It turns into rage & bitterness overnight. Psalm 145:8 says, "The Lord is gracious & compassionate; slow to anger & rich in love." Pray that verse into your life, asking God to make you gracious, compassionate, slow to anger & rich in love. Then when you feel angry, you'll have the wisdom of God to know whether to overlook it or to express it, & when & how. Don't let uncontrolled anger ruin your relationship with God or with the many people in your life. It is possible to be victorious—to be angry & sin not.

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john@arcentralchurch.org

501-374-2039

HANDLING HANDLING ANGERANGER

By John Phillips, Jr.

Central Church of Christ PO Box 870

Little Rock, AR 72203 1 (501) 374-2039

john@arcentralchurch.org www.arcentralchurch.org