"anger (Part 1): Side Effects Of Anger And What The Bible Says About It" Series

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!