Anger - The One Year Book of Hope

Anger

My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight. –James 1:19-20

Am I the only person in the world who practices my arguments with people? I doubt it. When I’m angry, I often find myself rehearsing a confrontational conversation, and I’m good! I want to be ready to win in the war of words! When I’m angry I have such a sense of self-righteousness. I easily fool myself into believing that I am an innocent victim, a force for all that is good and right, when oftentimes I’m really just angry because I didn’t get my own way.

Anger is a natural reaction when our desires for security, significance, or satisfaction are not being met. As we brood over our hurt, we churn and plot and imagine how delicious it will be to put the people we’re mad at in their place. But we should be wary of our anger. It is powerful and most often powerfully destructive. Anger is a potential poison in our souls that not only spoils our own joy, but also spills out on those around us.

Some might say it is unrealistic to think that we won’t get angry and that it is unhealthy or dishonest not to express our anger. Everybody gets angry, right? But while anger may be a natural reaction to not having our needs met, and may even be justified by our circumstances, our lives as believers are all about being transformed on the inside so that we are no longer bound to do what comes naturally or demand what we think we deserve. The Holy Spirit in us empowers us to respond supernaturally. The truth is, we do not have to let our anger control us when someone does something that hurts us. We will be tempted, but we can refuse to give in to that temptation.

I’m not talking about feeling a flash of anger. Anger becomes sin as we entertain it, as we stir it up and allow it to drive our emotions and steer our actions. The Scripture says, “‘Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). So don’t let your anger linger. Let it go. Hasn’t anger done enough damage to your relationships? Hasn’t it robbed you of joy long enough? Will you release it to God?

Gentle Jesus, my simmering anger feels so delicious to me, and yet when I look at it through your eyes, I’m ashamed. I want to get rid of anger so that joy can take its place directing my emotions and my actions.

DIGGING DEEPER