So today I want to talk to you about anger, specifically the kind of anger that causes outbursts, especially if those outbursts are way out of proportion to the situation at hand.
The reason we are talking about this NOW is a lot of folks have been struggling with this and I think it could be an attack against the Body of Christ to discredit our witness.
We’re going to talk about what unrighteous anger is, how it got there and how we can eliminate it from our lives. I’m going to be sharing some scriptures you can confess to rid yourself of it, and we’re also going to pray a prayer to break any Generational Curse of Anger off of you so you can be free of the Spirit of Anger.
There are two types of anger for us to look at. One is righteous anger. Righteous anger is NOT a bad thing.
Let me give you an example of Righteous Anger.
Let’s say you are talking to someone and they begin saying degrading things about Jesus, or His death on the Cross. Ridiculing, or mocking or just being disparaging to Him. If you feel anger rise up in you over what is being said about HIM, that is an example of Righteous anger. And we SHOULD feel righteous anger when anyone mocks our Lord, but especially those 9 hours of agony He suffered for us as He died.
Righteous anger is a good thing. Righteous Anger is what Jesus felt when He overturned the money changers tables:
Matthew 21:12 KJV
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Matthew 21:13 KJV
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
What is Unrighteous Anger
Unrighteous Anger is a temptation with an assignment to bring destruction somewhere in your life through the emotion of anger. Unrighteous anger is when someone says something about You or Me and we get upset. It is when someone mocks US, NOT HIM. Do you see the difference? Unrighteous anger is fleshly anger that has to do with US, RIGHTEOUS anger has to do with the Lord our God.
Okay…I just wanted to be sure we covered that before we go on lest anyone think righteous anger is not okay. Righteous anger, anger that has to do with someone mocking or blaspheming or insulting our GOD, NOT US, is a GOOD THING.
Someone once said “Anger is one letter short of DANGER.” Let me prove that to you by telling you a story I heard decades ago.
Decades ago I knew this one guy who if I remember correctly, he had JUST turned 21 years of age when he decided to go to New Orleans, Louisiana for a week to party with some friends. I think he lived in NJ. He and his friends wanted to see the Big Easy and experience what the South had to offer. I don’t know the details of how it happened, but somehow he got into a fight I believe when they were in a bar and when the fight had ended, he had accidentally killed the young man he was fighting. That young man he was fighting never went home from the bar that night, but neither did he. He was taken to jail and sentenced to life w/o. He will spend the rest of his natural life in the infamous Angola prison in Louisiana for ONE INSTANCE of anger. JUST ONE. Unrighteous anger showed up with an assignment to bring destruction into his life and the young man’s life and succeeded.
Romans 6:23 KJV
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The wages of sin is always death. Whenever you sin, look at your life and realize that death is coming to something in it. Anger sins often bring death to relationships. They can bring death to trust, to jobs, to friendships, you name it.
The devil knows how to bring destruction into your life and your family’s life. He just needs ONE CHANCE. JUST ONE. A bad temper or anger problem is just one example of a train wreck of destruction looking for a place to happen in your life.
So if you know you have a problem with anger, let’s talk about how you can get free before it destroys something beautiful in YOUR life that you can never recover. Because I can tell you that happened to me many years ago and I wish it had not. And I have witnessed it destroying relationships in others lives close to me and it is tragic to see, just tragic. It will cost you jobs, friends, positions and privileges and when it does, just remember it is YOUR fault because YOU knew it was there and YOU knew you should deal with it.
I cannot count the number of people I have met over the years that think just because THEY have an anger problem that THEY have the right to go around abusing everyone else. NO. You DON’T. And the Lord is going to recompense you for every time you did that. Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. (Gal. 6:7)
Our bad tempers do not glorify our beautiful, gentle Savior. Righteous anger is okay – that is anger over someone speaking ill of Him or Father God – but our anger and tantrums are not THAT. Our anger and tantrums are of the UNRIGHTEOUS variety that are all about US and we need to get them under control before they destroy us or our relationship with someone we love. Somebody once said Whatever sin YOU don’t overcome will eventually overcome YOU.
You know, I never asked my friend who went to prison if there was abuse in his family, but growing up with abuse does cause anger problems that will cause you, until you get control of the anger, to react WAY out of proportion to the situation. You’ll knock somebody out for the smallest thing. Literally.
Abuse can cause you to be like an explosion about to go off all the time, and your anger will destroy one relationship after another in your life. It will cause you to lose jobs and cause people not to want to be around you. Nobody wants to hang around a volcano that’s about to go off any second.
Arnold H. Glasow said “Temper destroys more homes than termites.”
What causes anger? Oliver Ross on mediate.com said, “…we get angry when people, situations, and other stimuli don’t meet our expectations…”
And if you remember when we talked about unforgiveness, you may remember the whole progession:
Offense … Anger … Resentment (caused by anger left to fester instead of being dealt with) … Bitterness … Unforgiveness
We don’t want any of THAT.
It has been said that “Expectation is the greatest source of unhappiness.”
Ever get really upset at someone and feel your blood pressure rising? Some people say That just makes my blood boil!” That is anger. And that boiling feeling is a big red flag telling you you need to get a handle on that or it’s gonna burn SOME body.
Anger, unchecked, is like a hurricane over open waters, it will rage on and on destroying everything in its path until it has worn itself out. The enemy can work through your anger to do a LOT of damage in your life – particularly to your relationships, to how people view you, and to any hope you have of being in ministry work if you do not get that in check.
Anger is said, out of all the emotions, to be the negative emotion that has the strongest and worst impact on our health. And just think about it – when you get angry, the stress of that anger causes your blood pressure to rise, can make you grit your teeth, tense up your body and your body, thinking it is in danger, releases stress hormones trying to save itself. That stress cocktail is not too damaging occasionally, but for people who have a chronic anger problem, it wears away at your good health. And high BP is nothing to play around with. Not only does it damage your arteries and internal organs, but it causes strokes. And let me just tell you as a person who had one of those kinds of strokes, you do want any of THAT.
I took Revenge, for I had suffered long,
And my small Right became enormous Wrong.
~Arthur Guiterman, "Of Wrath," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924
Everybody has anger at various times. We express and deal with that anger in the way we have found satisfies our needs. But those who deal with their anger in constructive ways instead of destructive ones fare far better in life.
Years ago, in the 1980’s, I worked for a man who had invented a machinery part that was then sold all over the world. I was his personal secretary plus I did payroll and other duties.
He was a successful inventor who had started his own company.
But he was truly an ogre to work for. You know some leaders are wonderful bosses that you remember for years after you have left their employ. But then there are those few who can only serve as horrible examples. He was the latter. He delighted in walking through the plant and screaming insults at people. He literally said it made him feel better. One day, he screamed insults at me after I had rejected his sexual advances. That was the last day he ever saw me. I walked calmly to my desk, picked up my purse and left. I was told he tried for 3 days to reach me by phone to beg me to return, but I would not have returned to that job for any amount of money and allowed myself to be treated that way.
How sad that a man so smart he could invent something fantastic that was used all over the world refused to treat people well so he could prosper even more. People work hardest for people they LIKE. And it takes time and money to hire and train someone new. That’s just foolishness. Everyone who worked for the company for a certain amount of time received stock options. Several years after I left, the company went public and one of the men who worked there took his stock options and bought an expensive new sports car. I could have stayed there another 3 years or so and cashed out, but I would have hated every day of my job and I would have lost all my self respect. No Thank You, I don’t want any of THAT.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. - Ecclesiastes 7:9 KJV
Anger rests in the bosom of fools.
You know, some people are just perpetually angry. Like that boss. All the time they are angry about something or at some group of people. Let me give you a news flash. Just because you have an anger problem that does NOT give you the right to just take it out on whoever you want. Can I just tell you that? You don’t have the right to spew your anger over something that happened to you a lifetime ago, a month ago or an hour ago on me or anyone else. None of us has that right. PERIOD. I don’t care who you are or how special you think you are, you’re not THAT special. God cares about how we treat other people. He CARES about the impressions we are giving people. You want to get into serious trouble with Him, just try going around going off on everyone and watch how fast He pulls you aside like when Mama would get the belt after you back in the day.
Ephesians 4:29 KJV
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:30 KJV
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:31 KJV
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Roman emperor, soldier, and stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (121 - 180), once said, "How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
I can’t say AMEN loud enough to THAT quote! The bottom line is, the Lord is not pleased with our unrighteous anger. It is sin. Sin brings consequences. No matter who or what made you angry, you have NO RIGHT to take it out on others. YOUR ANGER IS YOUR PROBLEM TO SOLVE, NOT theirs.
The Lord wants us to bring all our negative feelings to Him for help if we do not know how to solve them.
If you have lost relationships or jobs or trust or anything else due to your anger, I would like to make some suggestions. I also have, and it’s not fun.
Yall do realize don’t you that the reason I have so much material to preach about is because of my own imperfections? LOL True stories are the best stories, right?
Action Steps for Overcoming Unrighteous Anger
1. Ask the Lord for His help.
2. Renew your mind in the Word of God. I made a list of scriptures about anger and turned them into confessions, which I then added to my daily prayers and decrees.
3. Reward yourself. If you have an anger problem that rears its head often, consider making a promise to yourself that includes a reward. You can only have the reward if you meet the goal, otherwise you are CHEATING. No cheating, yall, that’s just wrong. Like what if you committed you were not going to allow yourself to go off on anyone or remain angry til sundown or something like that for a full week, or two weeks, or 30 days, and if you meet your goal, you get something special you’ve been wanting or something like that?
4. Pray the prayer I’m about to give you to break the Generational Curse of Anger.
5. THEN (and ONLY then – AFTER praying the prayer to break that curse) cast out the demons of anger, rage and tantrums.
I want to pray for all of us.
Lord God Most High, I lift myself and every person under the sound of my voice to You right now and we collectively ask for Your help, Lord. Lord, anger is a problem for us. The world around us has become an uncertain and sometimes very concerning place. You know Lord that laws are being made against us, and that times will get worse, not better, so we need to get our anger under control. It can only make all that worse if we don’t. Your Word says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Strengthen us, Lord, against the sins of anger. We ask for help to become more like our savior Jesus who is so loving and so gentle and kind. We ask Lord that You would help us to recognize when our anger is flaring and the devil is trying to work destruction again. Help us to cast down those thoughts and give the whole situation to You, Lord, whatever it may be. Lead us and guide us, Lord, and help us to be more like You. In Jesus precious Name we ask it. Amen.
Prayer to Break the Generational Curse of Anger
Repeat this prayer after me:
Father, I submit myself completely to You and ask You to forgive me for my sin of believing the lies of the Spirit of Anger and all sins related to being angry and having a bad temper. I confess every sin of anger, temper or spite, which I know are against what Your Word says right now including losing my temper, being spiteful and being angry and sinning, and going to bed angry.
I know Your Word says the joy of the Lord is my strength, so I am strong in You and
I repent of and renounce all thoughts of Anger, Temper and Spite, and I turn from all of those thoughts now in Jesus Name. I commit to You I will try my best to remember and cast down each one of those terrible thoughts as it presents itself to me. Please help me remember, precious Holy Spirit of God.
I also come to You and repent on behalf of my forefathers for their sins of anger, temper and spite, and of believing the lies of Anger, Temper and Spite, not to obtain forgiveness for them which is not possible, but to ask You to remove the iniquity of those sins from me, Lord, and I ask You for that now in the Name of Jesus.
Now in the Name of Jesus My Savior, I command the generational curse of Anger, Temper and Spite to be broken off every areas of my life NOW – I command it to fall to the ground and become as nothing in Jesus’ mighty Name! I command every demon associated with Anger, Temper or Spite to clean up your filth, pick up your seeds and depart from me and go into the Abyss immediately in Jesus’ Name! I plead the precious Blood of Jesus Christ over my mind, body and life. Lord God I praise You and I thank You forevermore for the precious Blood of Jesus and the authority of Name of Jesus that sets me free from this curse! Amen.
And now in the mighty and matchless Name of our Lord Jesus who saved us, we bind up the spirits of anger, of rage, of spite and of tantrums. We bind you together with strong chains and we command you to go NOW to the deepest pit in the Abyss and take your filth and your seeds WITH YOU in Jesus Name! We command you to stay there and await the judgment of the Most High God! We forbid you to EVER return to us again for ALL eternity. GO NOW IN JESUS NAME!!!
I hope this has been a help to you. Here is the list of anger scriptures I use myself. The wording has been changed only enough to make them into personal confessions against anger.
Anger Confessions
I am swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: (James 1:19)
I am not hasty in my spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom of fools. (Eccl. 7:9)
I can be angry, and not sin: I do not let the sun go down upon my wrath: (Eph. 4:26)
She who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and she that rules her spirit than she that taketh a city. (Prov. 16:32)
I am a servant of the Lord. The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (2 Tim. 2:14)
She that hath no rule over her own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. (Prov. 25:28)
I let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Eph. 4:29)
I am NOT a fool. A fool utters all her mind: but a wise woman keeps it in till afterwards (Prov 29:11)
Whoso keeps her mouth and her tongue keeps her soul from troubles. (Prov 21:23)
I do NOT give place to the devil through anger. (Eph 4:27)
I let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from me, along with all malice: (Eph 4:30)
The discretion of a woman defers her anger; and it is her glory to pass over a transgression. (Prov 19:11)
