There is a
right and a wrong way to be angry. The word ‘anger’ means to provoke or to
irritate. The faculty of anger was created by God and it is perfectly sinless
in itself. This means it is not a sin to be angry but it is a sin to allow your
anger to lead you into sin (Ephesians 4:26-27).
The
reference in Ephesians 4:26-27 is to being provoked by the Devil to commit sin
when angry but one must not yield to such provocation or give place to the
Devil to manipulate his anger. Anger is allowed by the gospel but the misuse of
the faculty of anger and the other emotion based faculties is what God condemns
(Mark 3:5) (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Anger is an
attribute of God and of man. God is angry because of sin and is angry with sinners
everyday (Psalm 7:11). He was angry with the Israelites in Numbers 11:1 when He
was irritated by their complaints. He was also angry with them in Numbers 14:9
when they provoked Him.
Jesus
demonstrated holy anger in Mark 3:5 when He was grieved by the attitude of the
Pharisees at healing on the Sabbath day. Therefore, anger is not always a
manifestation of sin and Satan as both God and man have it and will always have
it. As an attribute in man, man must have a lawful cause to be angry else his
anger will cause him eternal ruin (Matthew 5:22).
There is
holy anger and without holy anger, man will not be capable of confronting and
waging war against sin and Satan. It may be futile to be praying for us to be
dehumanized but we should be praying for the grace and the power to control the
faculty of anger and the other emotion based faculties within the bounds of the
Scriptures (Galatians 5:22-23).
Galatians
5:22-23 talks about the fruit of the Spirit and one of the components is
self-control or temperance. Though anger is allowed by the gospel, the same
gospel tells us to maintain strict control over this faculty. James 1:19
counsels us to be slow to anger, slow to speak and swift to hear and listen.
Our anger must not lead us to sinning against God (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Though anger
is allowed by the gospel, it is foolishness to be easily angry or annoyed.
Proverbs 12:16 tells that a fool is he who makes his anger visible at once when
offended while a wise one holds his peace. Likewise Proverbs 14:29 tells that
he that is hasty to be angry magnifies folly and foolishness.
In addition, Proverbs 27:3 tells that
ill-temper is injurious to one’s health, reputation and the personality.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 tells us that a fool is he who retains anger in him, keeps it
alive in him until it incites him to revenge while a wise man quickly casts
anger out of his bosom.
Though anger
is allowed by the gospel, the Bible has record of men who abused or misused
this faculty and brought them into disfavor with God or caused themselves ruin.
Prominent examples in the Scriptures include:
Ø Haman (Esther 3:5)
Because
Mordecai, a Jew refused to bow before him and show him respect, Haman was angry
and in a bid to revenge, he plotted the destruction of the Jews which backfired
and led to his fall and destruction.
Ø Cain (Genesis 4:5-6)
Cain’s anger
led to envy and the eventual murder of his brother Abel and ended up a fugitive
Ø Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34:25)
Because the
prince of Shechem defiled their sister Dinah, Simeon and Levi in fierce and
unrestrained anger plotted and executed the cold blooded murder of the prince
and all the inhabitants in the city –a horrendous massacre!
Ø King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16-21)
Because this
King was resisted by the priests when he intruded into the sacred things beyond
his jurisdiction, he became angry and God struck him with leprosy till the day
of his death. He started as God’s favourite, mightily blessed by God before he
fell out of favour and died in a leper’s colony.
Ø Moses was also God’s favourite but
was denied the opportunity of entering the Promised Land because he lost his
temper and dishonored God when he was provoked by the Jews at the waters of
Meribah
Though anger is allowed by the gospel, Proverbs 22:24 warns ‘’make no
friendship with an angry man and with a furious man, thou shall not go.’’
This
is saying that we should be careful of the company we keep because we can
unconsciously imitate and imbibe their spirit and ways and be ensnared. As a
heaven focused Christian, you must watch the company you associate with if you
want to go in the way of righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Anger has been defined by scholars as ‘’temporary madness’’ or ‘mental
disorder.’ Anger can cause a person to lose the Kingdom of God and send one to
eternal hell.
Ayodele Adegbulugbe
Lagos, Nigeria.
