God's Healing For Anger

God’s Healing For Angry Hearts

Introduction

Of all our emotions, anger is perhaps the rawest, strongest, and potentially the most destructive.

Anger is created by our thinking. It begins with an event that we notice and the interpretation we place on it. The result of your interpretation is a feeling that leads to emotional action. (Turner)

Anger is the result of emotional frustration or hostility.

The expression of anger is on the rise. Today we have people shooting each other over incidents that ten years ago would have just produced an expletive or two. People feel no hesitancy today in taking out their rage against another person in ways that end up sending them to jail or prison. Anger for many people has become an uncontrollable emotion.

Ironically, anger can often do more harm to the person who expresses it than to the person who is on the receiving end of it. A quote attributed to several different people: “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to the person on whom it is poured.” It is not surprising that anger is mentioned as the precursor of sin throughout the Scriptures.

Proverbs 29:22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

Proverbs 30:33 For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Proverbs 22:24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

The Scriptures also tell us that not all anger is sin: “Be angry, and yet do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).

Jesus experienced anger and yet did not succumb to sin. He lives within us to help us. Our relationship to Christ gives us hope and power to deal successfully with anger.

Types of Anger

Rage

Vicious, explosive anger that seeks to hurt others verbally or physically. It is open war on your circumstances or on the person toward whom you feel extreme anger. “Fits of rage” is one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5.

There are various descriptions of rage: Road rage, parking rage, air rage, boat rage, fishing rage, pedestrian rage, jogger rage, biker rage, trucker rage, cell phone rage, shopping rage, grocery cart rage, and checkout line rage.

I’m told there’s such a thing as pew rage, though I haven’t actually witnessed…yet!

Resentment

Inner turmoil that seethes and boils. It can be a response toward someone who wronged you or an unjust situation that hurt you or your loved ones.

Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Vengeance, revenge, retribution, retaliation (vs. grace)

We want justice for a wrong, to weigh the scales, which are balanced intricately between resentment (not enough justice) and guilt (too much justice). Individually, we are biased and therefore not qualified and informed enough to make that judgment.

Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Righteous Indignation

This is the kind of anger we feel when we witness certain forms of injustice and wicked acts. Should motivate us to become positively involved by our love for God and regard for His honor in opposing social or personal evils.

Aristotle phrased it well: “A man who is angry on the right grounds, against the right persons, in the right manner, at the right moment and for the right length of time deserves great praise.”

The Effects of Anger

Physical ailments.

Anger can produce a host of physical problems ranging from ulcers to hypertension. If entertained on a sustained basis, anger can be very detrimental to your physical health.

Emotional ailments.

Probably the most common companion of anger is depression. Depression is often anger turned inward. This combination is very destructive to our spiritual and emotional well–being.

Anger is usually displayed in one of two ways:

Physical or verbal outburst. (rage) A person may throw a punch, pound a fist against the wall, slam a door or phone receiver, swear, or shout, among other physical manifestations. Every form of abuse—sexual, physical, emotional, verbal—has anger at its root.