The Right and Wrong Ways to be Angry

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

www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng

Lagos, Nigeria.