Elenor Roosevelt observed, \u201cAnger is only one letter short of danger.\u201d Someone said, \u201cAnger is like acid that does more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.\u201d Unresolved anger is a poison that releases sin\u2019s destructive influence in our lives.
Genesis 4 records the first person to have anger management issues. Cain got so furious it fueled the first murder (fratricide\u2014the killing of one\u2019s brother). Cain got mad at God for rejecting his sacrifice, then he got mad at his brother, Abel, whose offering God accepted. Ironically, the first murder was over religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abel\u2019s\noffering was accepted; Cain\u2019s was rejected. Why? Cain brought fruit he worked\nto produce, he came to God on his own terms, he brought what he wanted God to\nhave. Abel brought a lamb (a blood sacrifice), he came on God\u2019s terms, he\nbrought what God wanted. The precedent was set in the Garden of Eden\u2014the only way sinful man can be\naccepted in the presence of a holy God is with a blood sacrifice (Gen. 3:21). \u201cWithout\nshedding of blood there is no remission\u201d<\/em> (Heb. 9:22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n These two\nbrothers represent two religions: Cain represents the religion of works (man\u2019s\neffort to reach God); Abel represents the religion of grace (God\u2019s effort to\nreach man). \u201cAnd the Lord respected Abel and his\noffering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very\nangry<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Gen. 4:4-5). God must\nhave indicated His favor with some visible sign. Otherwise, how did Cain know\nAbel\u2019s offering was accepted? \u201c<\/em>By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice\nthan Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God\ntestifying of his gifts<\/strong>; and through it he being dead still speaks\u201d <\/em>(Heb. 11:4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n God asked\nCain, \u201cWhy are you angry?<\/strong> . . .<\/em> If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin\nlies at the door\u201d<\/em> (Gen.\n4:7).Jealousy sparked anger which triggered murder. We live in an angry society. Don\u2019t believe\nit? Take someone\u2019s parking spot, try to cut in line, or honk your horn at\nsomebody. Symptoms of an angry society abound: road rage, abuse, divorce,\nprejudice, violence, and crime (over 20,000 murders are committed yearly in the\nU.S.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it a\nsin to get angry?It depends on how we react. Paul instructed, \u201c<\/em>Be angry, and do not sin<\/em><\/strong>: do not let the sun go down on\nyour wrath, nor give place to the devil\u201d<\/em> (Eph. 4:26-27). We\ncan\u2019t always prevent the things that make us angry, but we can control how we\nreact. We are created in God\u2019s image to feel emotions, but we also need to be like\nHim in how we control them. \u201cThe Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger<\/strong>, and\nof great mercy\u201d<\/em> (Ps.\n145:8). James, Jesus\u2019 brother, advised, \u201cLet every man be\nswift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not\nproduce the righteousness of God<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Jam. 1:19-20). We should get angry\nat things that anger God like sin, abortion, injustice, exploiting people,\nhuman trafficking, slavery, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember,\nJesus got angry when he ran the thieves out of the Temple with a whip. Pure\nreligion had been replaced by a scam. The merchants and moneychangers were\nprice gouging pilgrims who came to observe Passover. With righteous indignation\nJesus cleansed the Temple TWICE, once at the start of His ministry (Jn.\n2:13-17) and again at the end (Mt. 21:12-13). Jesus also got mad at the\nhypocrisy of religious leaders and at the unbelief and petty jealousy of His disciples\nwho argued over who was the greatest (Lk. 22:24-26). <\/p>\n\n\n\n How to be angry without sinning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> Be sure anger is\njustifiable. <\/strong>Make sure it\u2019s a legitimate reason not just some minor issue or\nan overreaction? Jesus cautioned, \u201c<\/em>I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without\na cause <\/strong>shall be in danger of the judgment\u201d<\/em> (Mt. 5:22). \u201cJust cause we want to\u201d is not a valid reason to be angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\nDon\u2019t react in a sinful way.<\/strong> Moses lost his temper twice and it got him\nin trouble with God both times. He was livid when he came down from Mt. Sinai\nand saw the Israelites dancing naked and worshipping the golden calf. However,\nhe reacted wrongly by smashing the Ten Commandments on the ground (Ex.\n32:15-20). Another time he was so vexed with their chronic complaining, he smote\nthe rock with his rod instead of speaking to it to get water. It cost him a\ntrip to Canaan Land (Num. 20:1-13). He was upset for the right reasons, but he reacted\nin wrong ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Resolve\nanger quickly. <\/strong>It\u2019s not a sin to get angry (if it\u2019s justifiable); it\u2019s a\nsin to STAY angry. \u201c<\/em>Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom\nof fools<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\n(Ecc. 7:9). If we let anger fester, we open the door to sin\u2019s destructive influence.\nAs God told irate Cain, \u201cSin lies at the door.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.\nDirect your anger at the right source. <\/strong>Focus on the actual issues that cause anger. Don\u2019t\nattack people with accusations and insults. That is counterproductive and only\nstirs up strife. \u201c<\/em>A soft\nanswer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger\u201d<\/em> (Pr. 15:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.\nDon\u2019t retaliate.<\/strong> If someone mistreats you, remember, two wrongs never make\na right. Paul wrote, \u201cRepay\nno one evil for evil . . . Beloved, do not avenge yourselves<\/strong>, but rather\ngive place to wrath; for it is written, \u201cVengeance is Mine, I will repay,\u201d says\nthe Lord . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good\u201d<\/em> (Rom. 12:17, 19, 21). Don\u2019t take matters into your own hands and try to get even.\nInstead, keep your spirit right and let God deal with people. As one Preacher said, \u201cI\u2019m\nnot going to try to get even. I\u2019m going to tell God on you.\u201d If someone\nmistreats you, tell God on them. He can deal with them and change their heart. \u201cNo\nmatter how much someone deserves your anger, it doesn\u2019t hurt that person as\nmuch as it hurts you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6.\nStall for Time. <\/strong>The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. Thomas Jefferson famously said, \u201cWhen angry count to ten,\nif very angry count to a hundred.\u201d Wait to speak or act until\nyou\u2019ve cooled off. Otherwise, you\u2019ll say or do hurtful things you\u2019ll regret\nlater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three main options for\ndealing with anger:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Option\n#<\/strong>1.\nRepress it.<\/strong> Some people hold it all inside which is not healthy. This results in the\nradiator effect\u2014like a hot coke bottle shaken up, the pressure accumulates, and\nwhen you open the lid, there is an explosion. Harboring rage in your heart is\nlike poison to your spirit. Prolonged anger produces poor health because your\nbrain is on full alert (like being attacked by a dog). It causes a wide range\nof harmful symptoms from the stress on your body and mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Option #2. Express it. <\/strong>There are valid ways to express\nlegitimate anger but some people wear their feelings on their sleeves and have\n\u201cshort fuse syndrome.\u201d They vent, explode, and lash out verbally at the drop of\na hat, damaging relationships, and nobody wants to be around them. Solomon\nwarned, \u201c<\/em>An\nangry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression\u201d<\/em> (Pr. 29:22). A student told his teacher, \u201cI lose my temper\noccasionally, but it\u2019s all over in just a minute.\u201d The teacher replied, \u201cSo is\nthe atom bomb, but think of the damage it produces.\u201d Billy Graham said, \u201cHot\nheads and cold hearts never solve anything.\u201d Remember, one of the fruits of the\nSpirit is self-control.\n\u201cHe who is slow to angeris better than the mighty, and he who rules\nhis spiritthan he who takes a city\u201d<\/em> (Pr. 16:32).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Option #3. Address it with forgiveness. <\/strong>\u201cBe ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another<\/strong>, even as God for Christ\u2019s sake hath forgiven you\u201d<\/em> (Eph. 4:32). Someone said, \u201cHolding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.\u201d Forgiveness is forfeiting your right to hurt someone because they hurt you. Pull the plug on anger. Let it drain out of your spirit like dirty bath water from a tub. If you\u2019ve been mistreated, abused, hurt, offended, or rejected, give those hurts to God. Let it go. Don\u2019t hold on to grudges, bitterness, and resentment. They are toxic to your spirit and keep you in emotional and mental bondage. Forgive and God will deliver you from the danger of unresolved anger!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elenor Roosevelt observed, \u201cAnger is only one letter short of danger.\u201d Someone said, \u201cAnger is like acid that does more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.\u201d Unresolved anger is a poison that releases sin\u2019s destructive influence in our lives. Genesis 4 records the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=726"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":731,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions\/731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}