Biblical Anger Management
It sometimes seems that there are a lot of reasons to be angry at the moment, and I’m not even talking about the political sphere. Sure, that provides plenty of reasons in isolation, but as people whose citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20-21), that shouldn’t even be the most important aspect of life to Christians. Nevertheless, even within the kingdom, there are problems that are often infuriating. Personal and congregational evangelism both come with significant challenges that can be frustrating on personal and congregational levels. There seems to be an increasing number of congregations more willing to err both to the right and to the left, which can be maddening to those trying to hold to “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). And yes, despite its perfect plan, the church is made up of imperfect people, which often leads to interpersonal conflict within the body and the frustrations that come along with it. Don’t get me wrong, there is also plenty to rejoice in and be thankful for, but it does seem like the potential pitfalls of anger abound more and more these days.
It’s important to remember that it is possible to “be angry and do not sin,” as multiple biblical authors put it (Psalm 4:4, Ephesians 4:26). If the emotion of anger was inherently sinful, I doubt the God who wants His people to be holy (1 Peter 1:14-16) would have handicapped the human race by instilling it into all of us as a natural response to frustrating situations. There is anger that causes us to sin, and there is anger that is righteous because it reflects the wrath of God towards sin.
However, it is also important to recognize the fact that anger, even righteous anger, is a painful emotion. Jesus concluded His thoughts about the hypocrisy-ridden leaders of the Jews (Matthew 23) with a lamentation over the city of Jerusalem (vv. 37-39). Clearly, His righteous anger towards the failures of the Jews is based on His sorrow and pain because of the harm he knows they are doing to themselves and their potential relationship with God. It’s never fun to be mad, just like it’s never fun to be sad, even when the reasons for both are justified. In that sense, being angry can be categorized as a type of suffering (one of the many types of suffering that taught Jesus obedience – Hebrews 5:8).
It is with that realization in mind that my thought recently turned to a simple statement made in the New Testament that is perhaps the best advice for those dealing with anger and seeking to do so as a Christian should:
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” ~ James 5:13a
There is a lot happening in the world – and yes, even in the church – that has the potential to make us angry. Some of that anger is probably selfish – in which case, repentance and forgiveness are necessary parts of the process of dealing with it – but some of that anger is also probably justified. Anger is never an easy emotion to deal with, and it is definitely one that Satan utilizes all too often to push us towards saying and doing things that we regret, both because they hurt others and because they hurt our ability to represent Christ to others. If you resonate with any of this, and if there is a situation that is causing you to be angry selfishly or righteously right now, here is the first question to answer:
Have you prayed about it?
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” ~ James 1:19-21
AUTHOR: Luke Tatum