Opening: A young mother and her little boy were driving down the street. The little boy asked, "Mommy, why do the idiots only come out when Daddy drives?" Do you get what the boy meant? His father liked to call other drivers' idiot' when he drove, but his mother never said that. So, he asked his mother, "why do the idiots only come out when Daddy drives?" Did you ever call other drivers "Idiot!"? I believe all of you are patient drivers. Today we'll continue our sermon series on "The Bible and Emotional Problems: Anger."
Understanding anger
Anger is a part of human emotions. Remember, God created humans as emotional beings that have different kinds of emotions. One of them is anger. Some anger is necessary for making things better, like what Jesus did. When Jesus cleared the temple of the moneychangers and animal-sellers, He showed great emotion and anger (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22). Jesus' emotion was described as "zeal" for God's house (John 2:17). His anger was pure and completely justified because, at its root, it was a concern for God's holiness and worship. Because these were at stake, Jesus took quick and decisive action.
Anger becomes a problem when we have trouble controlling it, causing us to say or do things we regret. According to Charles Spielberger, Ph.D., a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger, anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage."
Side Effects of Anger
Like other emotions, anger is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. Anger itself isn't considered a disorder, but anger is a known symptom of several mental health conditions such as depression. A 2010 study found that uncontrolled anger is destructive for your physical and emotional health.
Here are some effects of anger:
1. An angry outburst puts your heart at significant risk. Anger can raise your heart rate to 180 beats a minute. It can raise your blood pressure from 120 over 80 to 220 over 130, perhaps even higher. Dr. Chris Aiken: "In the two hours after an angry outburst, the chance of having a heart attack doubles."
2. Anger ups your stroke risk. One study found a three times higher risk of having a stroke from a blood clot to the brain or bleeding within the brain during the two hours after an angry outburst. There was a six times higher risk of rupturing this aneurysm for people with an aneurysm in one of the brain's arteries following an angry outburst.
3. It weakens your immune system. If you're mad all the time, you might find yourself feeling sick more often. In one study, Harvard University scientists found that simply recalling an angry experience from their past in healthy people caused a six-hour dip in levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, the cells' first line of defense against infection.
4. Anger problems can make your anxiety worse. In a 2012 study published in the journal Cognitive Behavior Therapy, researchers found that anger can exacerbate symptoms of a Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
5. Anger is also linked to depression. Numerous studies have linked depression with aggression and angry outbursts, especially in men.
6. Hostility can hurt your lungs. A group of Harvard University scientists studied 670 men over eight years using a hostility scale scoring method to measure anger levels and assess any changes in the men's lung function. The men with the highest hostility ratings had significantly worse lung capacity, which increased their risk of respiratory problems. The researchers theorized that an uptick in stress hormones, associated with feelings of anger, creates inflammation in the airways.
7. Anger can shorten your life. "Stress is very tightly linked to general health. If you're stressed and angry, you'll shorten your lifespan," says Fristad. A University of Michigan study over 17 years found that couples who hold in their anger have a shorter life span than those who readily say when they're mad.
What does the Bible say about anger?
The Bible tells many stories about people who got angry and the damages it caused. I will give you three examples. First, let's read Genesis 4:4-7 – "And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor. So, Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." Sadly, even though God Himself has warned Cain to control his anger, he didn't want to listen to God. He allowed his anger to fill his heart until he no longer could control it. In v. 8, we read, "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him." That was the first murder recorded in history and was done by a brother because of anger!
Second, in Numbers 20, we read how Moses was frustrated with the thirsty and murmuring Israelites. God commanded him to speak to a rock to obtain water from it. In v. 10-11, we read, "He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." God immediately rebuked Moses for his angry disobedience. V. 12 tells us, "But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." We can understand why Moses was so frustrated and angry with the Israelites. They were so stubborn, disrespectful to him, complained so much, and did not trust in God. But unfortunately, in his anger, Moses did not obey God. God told him to "speak to a rock," but he "struck the rock with his stuff twice." Because of his anger, God did not allow Moses, who brought His people out from Egypt, to lead them to the Promised Land!
Third, 1 Samuel 25 tells how David was so angry when Nabal very rudely rejected his request to Nabal to give food to him and his followers. All this time, David and his followers had protected Nabal's flock from losing no one. After receiving such a harsh answer from Nabal, David was about to kill him and all his male workers. Thankfully, Nabal has a wise wife named Abigail. She apologized to David for her husband's rude behavior. Hearing what Abigail said, David said this in verses 32-34: "David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak." Abigail's response to David's rage showed the truth of Proverbs 15:1 – "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
May God use us all to turn away many waves of anger and not to stir up anger! Many people are stressed, frustrated, and angry today. Sadly, many of them couldn't control their anger, and because of that, their anger destroyed their lives.
Illus.: A few years ago, a driver in Philadelphia shot another driver on the highway. There was a construction blockage on the road, narrowing traffic down to only one lane, creating long backups as cars from each direction took turns getting past the blockage. Well, this driver patiently waited his turn. But when he was about to get past the blockage, a car came up fast on the shoulder, passing all the waiting vehicles and crowded just in front of him. Then after doing that, the driver turned around with a smirk on his face and made an obscene gesture. Well, that infuriated the first driver. So, when the vehicles had to stop at the next construction bottleneck, he got out of his car, took out his gun, and shot the man in front of him to death. The road rage like this had happened at other places too.
So, we need to be careful not to let our anger control us. You may think, "This is who I am. It is my character." That is not true. When you give your life to Jesus, He can change your heart like what God did to Bart Millard's father, Arthur Millard, who Bart called 'monster' because he often beat him badly and was angry all the time. Bart said: "If dad got cut off in traffic, he might get a beating. If the Dallas Cowboys lost, another beating." The whippings came as often as three or four times a week, and he lived in constant fear. Often, he thought his father would kill him. But after his father read the Bible every day and surrendered his life to God, he experienced a life transformation. He became the loving, patient, and caring father that Bart had always wanted. They became friends, chatting for two hours each night until his dead died of cancer. The honor his father, he composed a song, "I Can only Imagine," in 1998 that hit No. 1 on Christian radio. Today Bart Millard and his friends serve the Lord through their band, "MercyMe."
Closing: If you struggle with anger, do not give up! There is hope in the Lord. Pray for God's help, meditate on His Word, and rely on His power. When you surrender your life to Jesus, He is the One Who works in you to get rid of your old self and create a new heart in you.
The Bible not only tells stories about anger, but it also shows four types of anger. So, next week we will learn about them. Also, we will learn about factors that cause anger. May God help us to control our anger and glorify Him.
