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Anger Management
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Ephesians 4:26,31 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger … Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice …
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Download audio fileIn a world of conflict and sin – and let’s face it that’s the world you and I step into every morning when we roll out of bed – anger is a fact of life. We’re going to do things that rub other people the wrong way and they’re going to get angry with us. They’re going to do things that rub us the wrong way and we’re going to get angry with them.
So here’s a question for you: is anger a sin or not?
I guess most of us would say yes it is. And yet even God gets angry sometimes and we know that there is no sin in Him. So now what do you do with this anger thing? Is it right or wrong? It’s not that obvious anymore is it?
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger … Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice … (Ephesians 4:26,31)
What does that all actually mean? How is that meant to work in your life and mine? Sometimes, anger is a natural response conflict. In fact, at its most basic level, when you think about it, it’s a built-in protection measure that we all have. The problem is that in this fast-moving, high-pressure, always-connected world that we live in, for many people, their anger is set on a hair trigger. Bang! It goes off at the slightest provocation. You see it all the time, don’t you?
But in sharp contrast to that, God is slow to anger and the more we become like Him, the more slowly we anger as well. Of course, we all have a boiling point. God does, you do and I do. Pushed hard enough we’ll all get angry.
So, the trick with anger is threefold. Firstly, it’s about learning to be slow to anger just like God. Cutting people some slack. Understanding where they’re coming from and why they’re behaving the way they are, compensating for their weaknesses, forgiving them ahead of time. It’s a good thing, a very good then, to be slow to anger.
Secondly, when we are pushed to that point of anger, not to say or do things that we’ll regret. Don’t hurl insults that you can’t take back. Don’t hurl the crockery either, just quietly.
And thirdly, don’t let anger fester in your heart. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. The greatest disease you can have comes from harbouring unforgiveness in your heart. It’s like cancer. It destroys us; it destroys our relationships.
Be slow to anger and quick to forgive.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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