A recent article in “The Business Insider” was entitled, “A Wave of Anger Is Sweeping The Cities of The World”. I didn’t read the article– I didn’t need to. It is obvious to everyone that people everywhere are angry– some justifiably so and some not. God’s Word says, “Be ye angry”, but it adds “and sin not” (Eph. 4:26). Everyone excels at the former and fails at the latter. Anger then becomes an adversary rather than an aid. That same verse also says,”—let not the sun go down upon your wrath”. Sadly, some have remained angry for decades and no reconciliation is in sight. And their sinful anger leads to terrible results.
Just the other day I read about a soccer ref who was killed and dismembered after he had stabbed a player. And everyday we read of some incident involving road rage or domestic abuse. But this problem is deeper than that. Nations are angry. Leaders are angry. And it trickles all the way down to the general population. Maybe I should say, it rises all the up, because it starts with individuals. As you know well, it’s hard to find a person who doesn’t have a problem with anger.
I don’t know a lot about many things, but I do know something about anger. Until the day I was saved I had an uncontrollable temper. It is a miracle that I didn’t kill someone or get killed. I destroyed furniture, busted out car windows, hit my best friend with a baseball bat, and threatened to shoot people. I wasn’t the kind of person you would want for a friend or an enemy. I didn’t believe in “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth”. I believed in a life for an insult. In my mind, anything that didn’t please me was a major problem. But by the grace of God I was saved before I ended up in prison or a grave. That’s when things began to change. Although I’m not the man I ought to be or want to be, thank God I’m not what I used to be.
Anger is dangerous. It causes people to act contrary to common-sense. It causes us to harm others and hurt ourselves. It causes us to do things we can never undo. Anger disfigures your character, defiles your life, and destroys 1001 things. We simply cannot afford to let our anger get the best of us. Bitter anger in the heart is like a deadly cancer eating away at our vitals, and like a raging fire consuming our valuables. Sinful anger is deadly. It not only hurts you and harms others, it grieves God.
Since anger is such a formidable foe it behooves us to be able to recognize it and remove it before it conquers us. One of the first things we need to realize is that anger manifests itself in numerous ways–a sharp tongue, sullen silence, etc. We might pretend it isn’t there, but discerning people see the signs. Stop kidding yourself. If you are harboring anger in your heart admit it and confess it to God. You and everyone around you will be glad you did.–HDS
