In March of this year, I was offered the opportunity to teach a Sunday school class for young Christians, men and women, who have recently accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Since beginning the class, I have had but one goal: to teach young in the faith Christians about their new faith and how to use the Bible as a guide for daily living. Since August of 2006, when I rededicated my life to the Lord, I became determined not to repeat the mistakes of my past and to seek out His guidance through the studying of the Bible, through prayer, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Basic discipleship became not only something that I had to go through, but something that spoke to my heart. There is so much more to this faith we call Christianity than I ever realized. Our salvation is not the end of a journey, but the beginning!
About a month ago, I was preparing a Bible study on anger for my Sunday school class. After all, we all experience it. We all know about it. As I began my study I realized how much about anger, especially from God’s point of view, that I didn’t know or fully understand. What I began to understand is that in the Lord’s eyes, there are only two types of anger: unjustified anger and justified anger. Unjustified anger, the most common, is also the most dangerous. It can lead us unwittingly into temptation and into sin, it can cause us to act out of character, and even cause us to hurt those around us that we would never consider harming otherwise. It is for these reasons that the Bible has three warnings about anger: Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9), Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19), and But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire (Matthew 5:22).
Unjustified anger has at its roots our flesh. Whether it is our best-made plans that fail to materialize, someone does something that hurts our pride, or simply just does something that we feel has wronged us, normally at the root is our fleshly nature. We’ve become embarrassed that we have been exposed not to be the person we want others to perceive us to be, but the way we actually are. In any case, this anger is firmly connected to our old fleshly nature and is the most dangerous. The apostle Paul, as led by the Holy Spirit, wrote Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). Unjustified anger, if we gave it the chance, will lead us to hatred, anger, and other sins. Make no mistake about it, unjustified anger is a work of the flesh.
Solomon, considered as one of the greatest and wisest kings of the Old Testament, wrote A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame (Proverbs 12:16). If we are honest with ourselves, we have seen others get mad over things that should have embarrassed them. In fact, if we are totally honest, we may have had that experience ourselves. Instead of taking the opportunity to repent of our sin and allowing God to get the glory, we make matters worse and bring more attention to what we perceive as our flaw. It’s a fleshly attitude that even Christians have and often struggle with. Most of the time, when something is made known about us, instead of feeling angry about it, we should repent of it and ask God for forgiveness instead of getting mad because of the situation our own sin and short-sightedness caused us.
Solomon also wrote He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly (Proverbs 14:29). When we take the time to ask ourselves the basic questions about our anger, we normally will see our anger for what it is – a reaction from the flesh. The reaction is often fast and most of the time we do not even stop to think about our actions. When we are slow to act upon our anger, it gives us a chance think about what we are truly angry and why. When we feel ourselves reacting out of anger to something done to us, we need to immediately ask ourselves questions and be completely honest with ourselves and the Lord with our answers:
- What is the real reason for my anger?
- What good does it do for me to be angry? How far am I willing to take my anger?
- Why am I angry at _________? Is it because they really wronged me or because they embarrassed me?
- What good would getting even with _______ accomplish? Why do I feel the need to make them hurt or suffer?
Solomon’s discourse on anger did not end with Proverbs 14:29, but is continued as he wrote A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both (Proverbs 27:3). When we succumb to the flesh and allow unjustified anger to control us, it will develop into wrath. Wrath is uncontrolled rage that seeks to be played out. Sometimes, our wrath will consume our imaginations as we begin to imagine ways of hurting the target of our wrath, even if it is someone we love and respect. What Solomon is probably referring to is that our unjustified anger and wrath becomes so much the focus that if we are not careful, it can become as heavy as sand or stones and just as hard to handle. It is easy to strike out at someone in our wrath and anger if we do not learn how to control it. Our wrath and anger become all-consuming to the extent we cannot enjoy any part of our life until our taste for wrath has been played out.
Solomon added to the warnings about anger when he wrote, Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9). Once something is done or said out of our anger or wrath, the consequences for what we have done may be profound. The saying “sticks and stones may break my bones…” is cute, but definitely not true. Words and deeds can hurt, and when they are said and done in anger, they cannot be taken back. They cannot be undone, and are often difficult to overcome.
Since Wednesday of last week, there has been a constant theme that has run through my personal devotions, Sunday school, and a couple of Facebook messenger conversations – the wonder of God’s grace. Let me begin this devotional by saying that I have matured a lot in my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, but I have a long way to go. There are areas where I still need to grow and I have faith in the abilities of God that He will craft me and mold me into the man who He has called me to be. While I am not a perfect man, I am not the man who I was even five years ago. When I was at a marketing training seminar for a non-profit organization, one of the speakers made a profound statement that has a spiritual application: if you’re not growing, you’re in the process of dying.
