Sinful Anger

The other day, I found myself becoming angry over something quite minor. I happened to say things I truly regret. The guilt I felt became overwhelming. I am meant to be a Godly man, I am meant to be a Christian; I am meant to display the fruits of the Spirit, and anger is not one of them. Immediately, my mind went to “I have failed the Lord, I have regressed to my old self,” where I lived with burning anger in my heart all day, every day. Anger that I kept suppressed, yet every now and then erupted in an ugly explosion. I really did not want to become that person again.

Not all anger is equal. There are two types of anger. Righteous anger and sinful anger. One helps us distinguish good from bad, and one is enough for us to slip into sin. The anger I felt was not righteous anger; it was anger that the bible warns us against.

Let’s look at two examples of each type of anger, which makes the difference clear.

The first story is one of sinful anger.

^“So, the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?” (Gen 4:6 NKJV)

We know in the story of Cain and Abel that Cain worked the fields, planting and harvesting crops, while Abel became a shepherd. They seemed to have both been successful in these occupations, and to show gratitude, they decided to give an offering to the Lord. Abel brought a nice fatty offering from his flock, while Cain only offered some of his harvest.

Caine’s offering was not pleasing to the Lord, but He was pleased with that which Abel offered. We then see anger rising in Cain. An anger that Cain could not contain. An anger that resulted in him murdering his brother. Anger has shown its wickedness right from the start of creation. Clearly, Cain’s anger led him to the sin of murder; his anger had become his master, and he had lost control. Any anger that leads to violence is an anger that lauds its mastery over you.

The second story is one of indignant anger.

A lot of people would never equate Jesus with being angry. A nice soft fluffy Christianity makes Jesus out to be soft, meek and mild in character. This is most certainly far from the truth.

“So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables” (John 2:15 NIV).

Jesus was indignant with how his Father’s house was being treated. This is a righteous anger. There are many occasions on which Jesus showed anger toward the Sadducees and Pharisees. In his righteous anger, he called them a brood of vipers! Not so meek and mild after all.

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:24 ESV).

Clearly, righteous anger is an appropriate emotion to have on certain occasions. Without it, human injustices against each other would be ignored. Instead, we feel angry when we see children being abused or someone committing heinous murders. We become morally bankrupt without indignant anger.

The difference between the two is a question of self-control. If you get angry about an injustice the anger is palpable, but we do not go and murder everyone who caused the injustice. But some do lose control, and when self-control gets lost violence takes over and the anger turns into our first example.

Cain, we can say, had anger issues. If you find yourself exhibiting the following, it is time to reflect:

You are unable to control your anger; it can be explosive at the most minor of perceived infractions.
Your relationships are being affected.
You lash out violently when angry. People get hurt both physically and/or emotionally when you get angry.
You hold grudges against people and are unable to let your resentment go.
Your retorts are full of expletives and personal attacks.
You take out your anger on inanimate objects such as doors.

James 1:19-20 tells us:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

This particular scripture gives us the blueprint for handling anger.

Quick to listen – before you speak, listen to the other person. You might not like what they say, but listening gives you a chance to take a step back.

Slow to speak – hold your tongue, it can be a jagged blade that pierces the heart. Keeping your mouth shut goes a long way in diffusing the situation. When you do speak, speak only the truth and speak calmly. Make sure you can distinguish between the person and the problem. Speak only to the problem and not the person (do not get personal).

Just these two tips can slow down your anger. Once you have slowed down your anger, take the energy that anger produces and use it constructively to solve the problem.

We can quickly do this spontaneously when the anger is immediate.

When the anger seethes and has time to gain momentum, there are further steps to take from a Christian perspective:

Prayer – spend time, a lot of time, behind closed doors praying for the insight to contain your thoughts and actions.

Speak to the Holy Spirit – He is there to guide you, ask him continuously when you feel anger to guide you away from it.

Focus on God’s word – spend time in the scriptures. Look for examples of sinful anger and see where God shows it leads.

Focus on Jesus – follow Jesus’s example, meditate on his actions and how he avoided sinful anger and embraced indignant and righteous anger. Tell yourself when you feel the anger swelling, “Be more like Jesus.”

Always remember that getting help for any problem shows courage and not weakness. Unchecked anger can lead to devastation and the harm to oneself and/or others. It needs to be resolved. If you have been taking steps to curb your anger and nothing is helping, do not hesitate to seek help from professionals.

I thought a good ending would be to add some scriptures relating to anger. God’s words of wisdom know no bounds:

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (Ecc 7:9 NIV).

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov 15:1 ESV).

“A fool always loses his temper, But a wise person holds it back” (Prov 29:11 NASB).

“A hot-tempered person starts fights; a cool-tempered person stops them” (Prov 15:18 NLT).

“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Col 3:8 NIV).

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4:25-27 NIV).

“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt 5:22-24 ESV).