Anger: A Brief Reminder

Let’s begin by taking a look at the Word of God to remind ourselves of the destructive nature of anger.

What examples do we see in scripture that reveal the effects of anger on people and on their relationships?

• Cain killed Abel out of anger.
• Gen. 27 (The anger of Esau towards Jacob for stealing the birthright; ready to kill his brother)
• Jacob’s sons, in their anger, destroy a whole town (Gen. 34), including all the dads and sons because of what was done to Jacob’s daughter. In Gen. 49:6, we see more of Jacob’s sons’ anger-driven acts.
• Num. 22 reveals how Balaam hits his donkey out of anger when, in reality, the donkey saved his life.
• Moses’s anger, quick words, and hitting a rock kept him out of the Promised Land (Num. 20:7-13).
• David’s son Absalom was angry about the rape of Tamar, but he internalized the anger; so it turned to a deadly drive for vengeance (II Sam. 13).
• Jonah was upset, angry at God for being merciful towards Nineveh and for destroying the gourd. He defended his anger: “I was right to be angry.”
• King Saul’s anger at his son Jonathan turned into destructive, disgraceful, attacking words and then deadly force as he threw a javelin at Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:30).
• Young Elihu lets his anger move him to speak to Job and his three friends, thinking he must have a better answer to give Job and better counsel than the elder men (Job 32).

Consider some thoughts from Proverbs. These verses are a recognition of the tendencies of men and women when they take a certain path. As a result, the writer has some thoughts about anger for us (ESV).

• 14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
• 15:1  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
• 15:18  A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
• 16:32  He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
• 19:11  Good sense makes one slow to anger.
• 22:24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man.
• 27:4  Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
• 29:22  A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.

My goal in this post is not to do an extensive workup on the topic of anger. So what is my goal today? I just want us to be reminded that as we battle the flesh, the devil, the world, and all that is around us, it is easy to slip into a worldly way of responding. We get tired of being the “good person” at work or in our family. We feel like people walk over us and it is time to stand up for self. Therein lies the problem with trying to be godly without God’s help. You cannot do this on your own. I do not care what kind of personality you may have; you will get angry. It just requires the right situation. And the anger may be overt or covert. The only way you can avoid being sinfully angry and tearing apart something you have built up that is good is to daily have the Spirit of God (He is opposite to the walk in the flesh, Galatians 5) as the one who rules you. If you do walk in step with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, rather than the works of the flesh, will be evident in your life.

Here are a few resources you may consider:

Journal of Biblical Counseling, Fall 1995 – Winter 1996  (3-part series on anger by David Powlison).

The Heart of Anger, Lou Priolo.

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges (ch. 15).