Anger Is A Threat To Self-Control

ANGER IS A THREAT TO SELF-CONTROL

Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2

“A small girl was showing a friend the bathroom scale: "I don't know what it is . . . but my mom and dad use it every day. All I know is, when you stand on it, it makes you really mad!".” (Steve May. The Story File. “In The Pit”. Peabody Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 65). What does it take to get us mad?

I once read a sentence sermon that went like this: "He who angers you controls you". Anger can make us lose control. Anger is dangerous is because it can hinder the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22 -23) if it is left unchecked. Paul warns us not to let the sun go down our anger in Ephesians 4:26. Paul's reasoning for not letting the sun go down on anger makes sense and Ephesians 4:27 explains why, letting the sun go down on our anger could give the devil the advantage of a foothold (NIV).

ANGER HARMS OUR HEALTH

Anger can harm those who entertain it's passion. Billy Graham once wrote "Doctors tell us that when any human emotion is over stimulated, excessive amounts of adrenal are supplied by nature to replenish the emotional drain on our systems. The person with a violent temper uses up this extra supply of energy to feed to feed the flame of his passion rather than to put out the fire". (Billy Graham. The 7 Deadly Sins. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1955, p. 29). When our adrenalin is operating like that, our blood pressure can rise, our stomachs can get upset and our bodies can feel the results and harm our own bodies.

Do you believe that anger can harm your body? Anger can harm the human body in numerous ways. "Several researchers even believe that some types of cancer result from the mega-doses of stress that unhealthy anger carries with it." (G. Samlley. Love Is A Decision. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989, p. 78). Anger can contribute to heart problems, bleeding ulcers, depression, anxiety attacks and a lowered resistance to colds and flu (p. 78). It should not surprise us that anger has this kind of potential.

The ultimate worse case scenario of anger is that it can be deadly for those who entertain it's passion. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over you tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back---in many ways is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you." (Frederick Buechner. Wishful Thinking. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1993). How often have we allowed our anger to eat at us?

Have you ever heard of the hostility index? "… In a study conducted by the Gallup Organization and reported in 1994, Philadelphia ranked first among U.S. cities on what was called the "hostility index." The hostility index was based on a nine question scale that asked people how they felt about such things as loud rock music, super market check out lines, and traffic jams. Other cities on the hostility top five were New York, Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit. At the bottom of the hostility index were Des Moines, Minneaplois, Denver, Seattle, and Honolulu.

"Medical experts looking at the results felt it was no coincidence that the cities that rated high on the hostility index also had higher death rates. Commenting on the study, Dr. Redford Williams of Duke University Medical School said, "Anger kills. There is a strong correlation between hostility and death rates. The angrier people are and the more cynical they are, the shorter their life span." (Craig Brian Larson. ed. Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teahcers &Writers. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996, p. 17). This story proves the point that anger is deadly when it leads to an ongoing attitude of hostility.

ANGER ALIENATES OUR SPIRIT

Can anger anger can cause cloud our judgment? It has been said that you can tell a lot about a man by the size of what it is that makes him angry. Although Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he couldn't conquer his own temper. On one occasion, Cletus, a childhood friend and a general in Alexander's army, became drunk and insulted the leader in front of his men. Alexander became enraged and hurled a spear at Cletus, intending merely to scare him. Instead, the spear killed Alexander's life-long friend. Remorse engulfed Alexander as he assessed the destruction of his uncontrollable anger. If we don't control our anger, it will control us! (See James 1:20). (Moody, March 1993, p. 74). There can be no doubt that his anger made him temporarily insane. How many times have we seen someone who got so angry that he or she over-reacted? How many times have we ourselves gotten so angry that we over-reacted?