Not too long ago a rainstorm came out of nowhere, seemingly. It does not rain much and just a few big drops of water can cause some crazy flooding. As I was driving to work, it created a mess. I was getting frustrated as traffic seemed to decide these few drops of rain warranted slowing down to a crawl. Before I knew it, we were at a dead stop. We would inch forward and stop. I could not see what was going on. I figured a traffic accident had occurred. There was no accident. A river had formed and was flowing across the highway. It was a construction area and this river had picked the traffic barrels up and thrown them across the road. We were weaving between the cones. When we finally cleared it, I pondered, why did I get so mad about that?
Where does anger come from? We know the basics, it comes from our hearts, but why? Why do we experience anger? What does God’s Word say about anger.
I believe God made us to have anger. The word anger is in the Bible over 200 times. God knows we get angry and he wants us to learn to control and manage our anger so that it does not turn to destruction and revenge. Exodus 32:7-10, God gets angry at the sin people are doing. If we are made in His image, then anger must be apart of us, but in God’s anger, he does not sin, so how do we reflect God and live like Christ when we get angry? What is the purpose of anger?
God’s Word tells us anger is like a consuming fire in Deuteronomy 32:22. It can engulf and destroy everything in its path. We have all seen the devastating wildfires in the western states. They burn and consume everything in its path. It is fueled by wind and dry conditions.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27
God’s Word tells us exactly what do with anger to have a sort of wildfire management plan in our hearts. Let us explore His word further to find the source and fire extinguisher we need to put out the fires of anger.
Be angry, and sin not
The Bible lists all sort of less than desirable behaviors, but it makes clear that anger is anger. We have to be care to not say, I am not angry I am just…”
Aggravated.
Frustrated.
Irritated.
Impatient.
Annoyed.
These are all the same and we are just renaming anger to make it sound fluffy. When we deny the truth, that we are angry, we open the door for satan to pour gasoline on that small ember. God’s Word above says, be angry, but sin not. It is ok to be angry, but we need to not sin in our anger.
WHen we break down Ephesians 4:29-31, we find out that when we open that door to satan, all sorts of evil comes out of us:
Corrupt Communication.
A desire to destroy.
Without grace.
Does not fit the occasion.
Grieves Holy Spirit.
Bitterness.
Wrath.
Anger.
Clamor.
Slander.
Malice.
Anger that is not recognized, dealt with, gives place to the devil to work all sorts of evil things through us. It is a complete contrast to what Ephesians 4:32 urges us:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
Cain and Jesus
When I think of an angry person in the Bible, there are many examples, but Cain always sticks out to me. Cain was angry God refused his sacrifice.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Genesis 4:6-7
God is graciously asking Cain to consider what is going on in his heart. Satan was at the door eagerly seeking to pour the gasoline onto his anger. God asks him to consider why he is so bitter. Cain refuses the opportunity and murders his brother.
In stark contrast we see Jesus get angry. In John 2:13-17 we read the account of the righteous anger of Jesus when he walked into the temple and saw people making a mockery of it. He flipped over tables and chased the people out. The bible says he drove the people out. We get this idea he had a whipped and beat people while chasing them out. He just simply chased them out. God’s Word says he made a whip. This took time. Someone who is irrational does not take the time to make a whip. He was not fueled by rage. He saw there wa a problem and did something about it.
Ungodly Anger
What was this anger Cain had in his heart? What is ungodly anger?
Let us put ourselves in Cain’s shoes for a moment. We have all experienced anger. Cain was angry his sacrifice was not accepted. Can we assume Cain knew what was required? If Abel knew, we can assume, he knew. Even though he knew, he spent seasons, planting, caring for and harvesting his fruits and vegetables. I am sure they were lovely! His altar was probably beautiful to eyes. His heart was probably in the right place, but doing the wrong thing. How many times have we been in this place? I often wonder, what is the real issue of our anger? He knew better, but went off and did his own thing, expecting God to be pleased with his sacrifice. He put his hard work, blood, sweat, and tears into this harvest, so God should accept it, right?
An initial angry reaction is not necessarily sinful. To feel angry is a signal that we need to sit up straight and examine our anger. Not the feeling, but what are we really angry at? God says, hey you, look in your heart. What are you angry about?
Unfortunately, when we do not train ourselves to stand upright and hear, listen and search, we run off the feeling of anger. We then define ungodly anger as motivated by selfishness, showing disobedience to God’s leading, and a desire to destroy whatever is blocking our desires.
Let us stop and ponder this a moment. When we let that fickle emotion take over, we are selfishly refusing to do what God has asked us to do. Anger and anything associated with it’s initial response by us can be caused by grief, blocked goals, being misunderstood, falsely accused, or feeling voiceless. Ungodly anger is trying to defend ourselves from being seen as worthless. We distrust God’s ability to protect us and reject the value that God declares about us.
We can identify ungodly anger by the tone, physical reaction, refusal to forgive, disobedience of the Holy Spirit’s prompting, harmful words, and rehearsing of past hurts in our mind.
Overcoming Anger
God’s Word encourages and commands us to not be the kind of ungodly anger. It is a fire that destroys ourselves, our relationship with others, and our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
In Touch with Your Feelings
Our fickle feelings can get us into some real trouble when we allow them to control us. We need to train ourselves to be in touch with what we are feeling. Our feelings can be huge red flags and warnings that we are distrusting God and have wrong thoughts or ideas. We need to compare our feelings to the fruit of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22-23)
Slow Your Roll!
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20
Many of our ungodly reactions happen out of quick reactions to anger. Slow down and step away.
Ask God
When we slow down and step away, we can go to our Heavenly Father and ask him the same question God asked Cain, why? WHat is being threatened in me? What seems threatening to my well-being, image, reputation, and anything of value to me? Is how I am about to react bringing glory to God? Ask God to reveal the heart of the matter. Sometimes the situation is just gasoline to something else deeper in us.
Confession and Cleansing
Once we get to the heart of our anger we can bring it to God. If we crossed that line of righteous anger to ungodly anger, we can stand confidently before our Heavenly Father and confess it and ask for cleansing. We can praise and worship our Heavenly Father that he forgives us in our most ugly moments. Do not put a wait or hold on this. DO not wait until you go to bed that night, immediately seek forgiveness. The faster you are forgiven and cleansed, the faster you will recognize the temptation of sinful anger the next time.
Seek Reconciliation
Anger spills out into our relationships. It causes us to physically, emotionally, psychologically or verbally abuse others. The heart of abuse is anger. No one abuses another person with a heart full of joy and peace. We need to not only seek forgiveness and cleansing, but we need to take responsibility for our anger and abuse to those we have hurt. We need to take responsibility for what we have done. This is not a casual I am sorry. We need to truly seek forgiveness. Ask for God’s help in making amends in the relationship you have damaged by your anger.
Those who have hurt us through an ungodly reaction to anger need to be forgiven. Not forgiving them is a path to that ungodly anger we spoke about above. It is a circular relationship with our Heavenly Father. As he forgives, we must forgive.
My anger was not because people were driving slow, the rain, the river, or construction barrels. My anger was remembering a few days earlier about a situation and lies that were spoken. I was right to be angry, but I did not deal with it as I should have. I let it fester and it spilled out. Thankfully I could get to work earlier and just pray it out. Remember the forgiveness given and ask for God’s cleansing.
Why are you angry today? What have you renamed anger in your life? WHat is the Holy Spirit prompting you to do with this anger? Who are you angry at?
It Starts Small 
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