INSTRUCTION ON ANGER
EPHESIANS 4:26-27
ILLUSTRATION Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way—that is not easy.—Aristotle
In line with these statements, let us find out the Lord’s instruction when it comes to anger. Read Ephesians 4:26–27 26“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
This passage says that part of the old self that we must put off is the way we deal with anger.
Read Colossians 3:8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
ILLUSTRATION A man from Omaha, Nebraska recently discovered a creative, but not redemptive, way to express his anger. According to news reports, he had been ticketed by the city for not mowing his grass, so he mowed it. The problem is that he mowed an obscene expression in the grass.
The obscene phrase covered an area of about 30 feet across the lawn. Local officials had a debate concerning what to do. The big argument was whether or not he had broken a law and whether or not his expression was protected by the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (Copied)
What was the instruction on anger? "In your anger do not sin"
This phrase implies that anger is an emotion common to everyone. It also says that we can be angry and avoid sin.
DEFINITION Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism. This emotion is normally considered sinful in the Bible.
Read Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Read Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Anger of a good sort is also spoken of in the Bible. It is called "righteous indignation" which refers to the extreme displeasure of a holy heart unable to tolerate sin of any kind. The anger of God contains this element: man should be good, yet he sins -- and God is angry because they forsook the covenant of the Lord by disobedience and idolatry.
Read Exodus 4:14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.
Read Judges 2:14 In his anger against Israel the LORD gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
God’s anger is not an unreasonable, unwarranted, or arbitrary passion but a result of the conflict between his holiness and sin. It was in that sense also that Moses’ anger burned on Mount Sinai and caused him to smash the tablets of the Law on the ground when he saw the golden calf and Israel’s idolatry (Exodus 32:19).
In the New Testament, Mark says that Jesus looked with anger at the Pharisees, who were hoping to catch him breaking their law (Mark 3:5). Jesus’ anger was also shown in his cleansing of the temple (John 2:13–22); it should have been a place of prayer but was being used as a place of business.
His holy indignation was neither a weakness nor a sin. Such anger is an appropriate response to iniquity and injustice, especially when they are apparently unpunished. The believer should understand that there is appropriate and inappropriate anger and attempt to insure that his anger, like God’s, is proper to the situation. Evidently Paul felt that righteous indignation could easily turn into unholy anger and sinful wrath, so he added some explanatory prohibitions:
How can we be angry and not sin? “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”
The longer a person allows permissible or righteous anger to continue, the greater the danger that it will develop sinful qualities.
ILLUSTRATION According to Ripley's Believe it or Not, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, cut off a great part of her hair after a quarrel with her husband. She then asked an artist to paint her with her new hairstyle with her holding the clump of cut hair.
She thus immortalized the quarrel. Sometimes we have to let things go. How many of us are clutching the remnant of some argument that needs to be forgotten?
How do we deal with our anger in such a way that it would not stay with us longer?
1. Talk to the person your angry at.
Sometimes they don’t know or not aware of the offense they did. Ignoring and avoiding the person involved would prolong your anger.
Read Matthew 18:15–17 15“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
2. Replace your anger with compassion and forgive.
Read Ephesians 4:31–32 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
ILLUSTRATION David Jeremiah tells the story of poet Edwin Markham, who—as he approached retirement—discovered the man to whom he had entrusted his financial portfolio had spent every single penny. Markham's dream of a comfortable retirement had vanished in an instant. Of course he was furious; and with time, his bitterness grew by leaps and bounds. One day, Markham found himself trying to calm down by diverting his attention to drawing circles on a piece of paper. Looking again at the circles he had drawn on the paper, Markham was inspired to write the following lines:
He drew a circle to shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle to take him in.
Those words today are by far Markham's most famous among his hundreds of poems, but more important than his professional accomplishment is the freedom from anger he experienced by offering forgiveness to the man who stole his lifelong savings.
Are we plagued by anger and bitterness? Have we been holding a grudge? Forgiveness is a healing experience, not just because it frees the offender but because it can free you from the hurt.
Why should we not prolong our anger? “And do not give the devil a foothold.”
In Greek, the word "topos" was used for “foothold” which means a place, position, or a region. It is a specified place of habitation.
Foothold is a place where one can lodge a foot to give secure support while climbing. It is a secure position from which further progress may be made.
When we give the devil a foothold, we are actually giving him a secure position from which he can progress in our lives in terms of influence. Anger is one of the steps where the devil can use to progress his influence in our lives. Therefore when we deal with our anger right away, we are destroying that place or position where he can stand and move forward.
ILLUSTRATION One of the ways, a devil’s foothold was established in us is our painful experiences in the past. Those past experiences developed anger in our heart that from time to time, the devil exploits. Unless it is dealt with, we cannot be released from it.
Figuratively, giving the devil a “foothold” also means to give him an opportunity, occasion, and chance to control and cause us to sin.
Apostle Paul was aware of this fact when he dealt with the Corinthians regarding a brother who sinned.
Read 2 Corinthians 2:10–11 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
What can we do keep the devil from establishing a foothold?
1. Be aware of the devil’s work in relation to our anger.
Read 1 Peter 5:8–9 8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
2. Be slow to become angry – quick to listen and slow to speak.
Read James 1:19–20 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
ILLUSTRATION The coach of a Buffalo little league team called one of his players over to him and said that he would like to explain some of the principles of sportsmanship. He said, "We don't believe in temper tantrums, screaming at the umpires, or using bad language. Do you understand?" The boy nodded. "All right then," said the coach, "I want you to go over there into the stands and explain that to your father who is jumping up and down and screaming."
Read Ephesians 4:26–27 26“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
