The Power of Purposeful Anger and the Pitfall of Losing Control

Regarding hot topics, this has been at the top of the list in the past couple of weeks. Everywhere I turn this seems to come up more often than not and I myself have fallen into the pitfall of losing control. First, let's ask the question, are you sarcastic? Annoyed easily? Argumentative? If the answer is yes, then recognize that these are forms of anger. Anger seems to be a common occurrence on a daily basis, whether we become angry or run into someone who is. Is anger a sin? Is there a purpose in being angry? How do I know if I have a right to be angry or not? How can I properly handle my anger? These are a few questions we are going to discuss today.

Read James 1:19-20, Matthew 5:22

The emotion of Anger is not a sin in itself to feel, however, what we do while we are angry can cause us to sin. There are 2 types of anger, unrighteous and righteous anger. Unrighteous anger is when we are trying to protect ourselves or our pride, righteous anger is when we are trying to protect the things of God.

The Bible is clear that we are not to be hot-tempered towards others. It's easy in our day and age to get angry with people quickly in certain circumstances, whether that's at work or with a family member, friend, or child. James writes that we are to be quick to listen; how much information of the situation are we gathering? Does the person I'm dealing with just need to be heard? Then he says be slow to speak; this does not mean we are to say nothing but don't be rash in the words we say, think about it first and ask if what I'm about to say lines up with scripture and shows the love of Christ. Finally, be slow to anger for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God; when we notice ourselves becoming angry at a situation ask yourself the question "What am I trying to protect?" Often times when we are angry we are trying to protect ourselves or our pride and this is the unrighteousness that James is discussing, because we will easily fall into hurtful speech and unforgiving conduct. Jesus calls us to be meek and humble as He is. Meekness simply means power under control and humbleness means not thinking of yourself as better than anyone else. When we are dealing with unrighteous anger we have to remember this and Paul's words to the church at Ephesus. Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Dealing with others can be extremely difficult. Recently there have been situations where I became angry with others but decided it was best to not say anything. The Lord has laid it on my heart that I have been wrong in this. The longer these things have gone on, the more division there has been. Ephesians 4:26-27 says "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." When we are angry we should not let the day pass by to resolve the issue. It can sometimes be wise to take a few moments to gain self-control and calmly collect our thoughts, but the longer we wait to resolve a problem the more foothold the devil has to cause more division.

Read John 2:13-17

Righteous anger is when we are protecting the things of God. Many argue that Jesus sinned when he drove out the merchants from the temple, however, this is false. Just because Jesus was full of passion for His father's temple does not mean this was sinful, on the contrary, the merchants that had set up booths in the temple were making the things that were for the Lord a benefit for themselves. This was turning the hearts of the people away from the Lord because of convenience and greed. Jesus saw the evil in the hearts of man that crept into the Father's court and was overcome with righteous anger for the Lord. This does not mean that every time someone does something sinful we should get angry in Jesus' name but depending on the circumstances, it is okay to be full of passion when contending for the Faith (Jude 1:3).

I love the wisdom that Gregory Koukl shares in his book Tactics on this situation, he mentions that in an argument, if either party gets angry at any point then you lose. You lose the situation and most likely the opportunity to discuss it again. Though anger is not a sin, it can be a big temptation to sin, and it is not always the best tactic when sharing our faith with others. It can be a powerful tool when directed properly and with the correct motives, but without self-control becomes a dangerous divide the devil grabs hold of.