Proverbs 12:16
Fools show their anger at once,
but the prudent ignore an insult.

James 1:19-20 NRSV
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

We are an angry people. Sitting in the midst of some of the greatest wealth ever experienced in the history of mankind, and we are angry. I see it and read about it everyday. Rudeness. Disrespect. Downright rage. Just do a Google search on the Internet and you’ll find hundreds of programs about anger management.

Part of the problem is that we have embraced our anger. In the 1960's, psychologists (and then pastors) began to tell us that emotion—any emotion—was healthy and normal, that we shouldn’t try to deny or ignore our emotions, but to accept them and to experience them. Even today, the American Psychological Association says:

“Anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. . . . Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival” (Retrieved on 9/18/08 from http://www.apa.org/topics/controlanger.html).

However, as believers, we don’t get our definitions or our guidelines from the world, but rather from scripture. And the Bible has a lot to say about anger.

Why? Because anger is self-centered. It is about defending ourselves against the actions of others. It is about having our revenge of the moment, of being superior by getting the best we can get and not worrying about those around us. Our Lord Jesus, on the other hand, had a completely different view of things:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile” (Matthew 5:38-41 NRSV).

The Lord Jesus wasn’t about defending Himself, but was rather about submitting to the Father’s will, even if that meant that others harmed Him. James taught that anger doesn’t produce God’s righteousness. Think about it. When you are angry, are you thinking about God and how to submit to His will? Or are you thinking about yourself and how you want revenge? When we are angry, we aren’t trusting God; we are trusting ourselves. And that’s a very dangerous position to be in.

Many things lay the groundwork for anger: Needing to be right. Feeling neglected. Being in a hurry or under stress. Even being tired. As believers, we need to be aware of the situations where we know we are likely to become angry, and in those situations, we need to be in even more prayer, be even more aware of our reactions to things. Anger can bubble up like a boil, out of control before we know it. If we are aware of the places where we can potentially be angry, we can be on the watch to control our emotions.

Proverbs talks about insults. I have to laugh to myself because pride is such a delicate thing (and insults only attack pride). My kids at school get their dander up all the time because someone insults them (in their vernacular “disses” them). One of the things I try to teach them is:

If what someone says about you is true, then it’s true. No need to get upset. It’s true. If what someone says about you isn’t true, then their saying it doesn’t make it true, so still no need to get angry.

As believers, we can measure our spiritual maturity by how easily we are angered, insulted, and hurt. If we are leaning on the Lord for everything, then what others say, what others do isn’t going to matter. We will be content knowing that the Father is taking care of everything.

Copyright 2008 by Robin L. O'Hare. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Permission to reproduce will be given by author by contacting servinggodalone @ yahoo.com. All copies must be reproduced in their entirety and distributed without cost.