And bail on all the anger at God. He’s done nobody any wrong. If you have a beef with.. a conflict with God then it's your problem not His. He's not angry at you (cuz of the Cross of Christ).
Got some church-hurt. Have cultists, or dead-religious, or carnal Christians done you or a loved-one wrong? That wasn't God -- His heart is broken over that because He fiercely loves you and them in this fallen, broken world gone so sideways!
Want a healthy thought life, attitude, spirit and heart? Want calm emotions and peace? Forgive those who have wronged you regardless of how you feel. A forgiven people need to be a forgiving people.
Ditch the anger towards people.. even towards idiots. God loves even the idiots cuz he made them too in His image though He didn’t make them as idiots. They have their own personal choices. Did God ever get angry while here?
Yes, Jesus did! Remember He turned the tables over when they were using his house to exploit people for money. Many religious leaders and false teachers Even today fleece the flock but God wants us to feed and nurture His flock.
Be angry at the evil that burns innocent peeps. Perhaps more angry than you are now with godly indignation inside.
Be angry at the evil in this world that you know.. burns innocent peeps.. and hurts others too. Perhaps more angry than you currently are, but with godly indignation inside. Why flesh-out? Be not angry at any people please.
"Is it any merit to abstain from wine if one is intoxicated with anger?" ~ Augustine"I choose gentleness instead of anger at people... Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself." ~ Max Lucado"What we need today is not anger but anguish, the kind of anguish that Moses displayed when he broke the two tablets of the law and then climbed the mountain to intercede for his people, or that Jesus displayed when He cleansed the temple and then wept over the city. The difference between anger and anguish is a broken heart. It's easy to get angry, especially at somebody else's sins; but it's not easy to look at sin, our own included, and weep over it." ~ Warren W. Wiersbe"I never work better than when I am inspired by anger; for when I am angry, I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperament is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart. When I am angry I can pray well and preach well." ~ Martin LutherBecause of the cross at Calvary God is not mad at you."No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger (at people)." ~ John Chrysostom"It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good temper down to ourselves." ~ Clive S. Lewis
What does God in the Bible say about anger?
Handling anger is an important life skill. Christian counselors report that 50 percent of people who come in for counseling have problems dealing with anger. Anger can shatter communication and tear apart relationships, and it ruins both the joy and health of many. Sadly, people tend to justify their anger instead of accepting responsibility for it. Everyone struggles, to varying degrees, with anger. Thankfully, God’s Word contains principles regarding how to handle anger in a godly manner, and how to overcome sinful anger.
Anger is not always sin. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves of, often called “righteous indignation.” What is God angry at?
“God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Ps. 7:11).
The Lord is angry at destructive people causing other lives harm and destruction. It was never supposed to be this way! It hurts Him to see people hurting and getting hurt, rippin' off and getting totally ripped off! Hell wasn't meant for people, it was meant for arrogant, rebellious, fallen angels. Solution? Come to Jesus as you are willing to be changed by Him or.. come back to Him now.
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| Thank you GotQuestions and thanks for the pic, Afif Kusuma. |
“And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” (Mrk. 3:5-6 nkjv),
There are times when it is acceptable for believers to be angry. Yep, the Bible says, “Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” (Eph. 4:26-27 nkjv).
Two Greek words in the New Testament are translated as “anger.” One means “passion, energy” and the other means “agitated, boiling.” Biblically, anger is a God-given energy if ya will intended to help us solve problems.
Examples of biblical anger include David’s being upset over hearing Nathan the prophet sharing an injustice (2 Samuel 12) and Jesus’ anger over how some of the Jews had defiled worship at God’s temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-18). Neither of these examples of anger involved self-defense, but a defense of others or of a principle.
It is important to recognize that anger at an injustice inflicted against oneself is also appropriate. Anger has been said to be a warning flag—it alerts us to those times when others are attempting to or have violated our boundaries.
God cares for each individual. Sadly, we do not always stand up for one another, meaning that sometimes we must stand up for ourselves especially if you have a family to feed. Do also consider the anger and pain that victims often feel. Victims of abuse, of violent crime, or the like have been violated in some way. Often while experiencing the trauma, they do not experience anger. Later, in working through the trauma, anger will emerge.
For a victim to reach a place of true health and forgiveness, he or she must first accept the trauma for what it was. In order to fully accept that an act was unjust, one must sometimes experience anger. Because of the complexities of trauma recovery, this anger is often not short-lived, particularly for victims of abuse. Victims should process through their anger and come to a place of acceptance, even forgiveness. This is often a long journey. As God heals the victim, the victim’s emotions, including anger, will follow. Allowing the process to occur does not mean the person is living in sin.
Anger can become sinful when it is motivated by pride (James 1:20), “..for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. [Jas 1:20 NKJV]
It can destroy when it is unproductive and thus distorts God’s purposes“ Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, (1 Cor 10:31-32 nkjv), or when anger is allowed to linger too long.“ The Bible says...
"Be angry at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior, yet do not sin; do not let your anger cause you shame, nor allow it to last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness.” (Eph. 4:26-27)
Jesus did that even out in a public place and those around him knew exactly what He was angry about. The greedy sins of misrepresentation of His Father.
What’s that? Dishonesty for personal gain. The motives, words and offensive actions of giving a false or misleading account of the nature of someOne or something. And was Jesus seeking damages or some retaliatory payback on the non-allegations of misrepresentation? No. He sees hearts and wants people to repent and wants all bystanders to carefully learn what never to be or do.
One obvious sign that anger has turned to sin is when, instead of attacking the problem at hand, we attack the wrongdoer.
In Ephesians 4:15-19 Paul says we are to speak the truth in love and use our words to build others up, not allow rotten or destructive words to pour from our lips.
“They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit"; 'The poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood." Rom. 3:12-15 nkjv
“A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” Prov. 29:11 nkjv
This shows us that poisonous speech is a common characteristic of fallen man. Anger becomes sin when it is allowed to boil over without restraint, resulting in a scenario in which hurt is multiplied (Proverbs 29:11), leaving devastation in its wake. Often, the consequences of out-of-control anger are irreparable. Anger also becomes sin when the angry one refuses to be pacified, holds a grudge, or keeps it all inside (Ephesians 4:26-27). This can cause depression and irritability over little things, which are often unrelated to the underlying problem.
We can handle anger biblically by recognizing and admitting our prideful anger and/or our wrong handling of anger as sin (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). This confession should be both to God and to those who have been hurt by our anger. We should not minimize the sin by excusing it or blame-shifting.
We can handle anger biblically by seeing God in the trial. This is especially important when people have done something to offend us. James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28-29, and Genesis 50:20 all point to the fact that God is sovereign over every circumstance and person that crosses our path. Nothing happens to us that He does not cause or allow. Though God does allow bad things to happen, He is always faithful to redeem them for the good of His people. God is a good God (Psalm 145:8, 9, 17). Reflecting on this truth until it moves from our heads to our hearts will alter how we react to those who hurt us.
We can handle anger biblically by making room for God’s wrath. This is especially important in cases of injustice, when “evil” men abuse “innocent” people. Genesis 50:19 and Romans 12:19 both tell us to not play God. God is righteous and just, and we can trust Him who knows all and sees all to act justly (Genesis 18:25).
We can handle anger biblically by returning good for evil (Genesis 50:21; Romans 12:21). This is key to converting our anger into love. As our actions flow from our hearts, so also our hearts can be altered by our actions (Matthew 5:43-48). That is, we can change our feelings toward another by changing how we choose to act toward that person. We can handle anger biblically by praying first and tactfully communicating clearly.. respectfully to solve the problem.
There are four basic rules of communication shared in Ephesians 4:15, 25-32:
1) Be honest and speak (Eph. 4:15, 25). Stick with the facts and how a deed made you feel. Nothing wrong with that. People cannot read our minds. We must speak the truth in love.
2) Stay current (Eph. 4:26-27). We must not allow what is bothering us to build up until we lose control. It is important to deal with what is bothering us before it reaches critical mass.
3) Attack the problem, not the person (Eph. 4:29, 31). Remember the importance of keeping the volume of our voices low.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1).
4) Act wisely, don’t react in the flesh to sinning people (Eph. 4:31-32). Because of our fallen fleshly nature, our first impulse can often be a sinful one (v. 31).
Hey, time spent in “Prayin’ ten verses.. or over ten issues related.. you know, instead of merely counting to ten” (as people do, which ain’t bad, but not as good as prayin’). This time should be used to reflect upon the godly way to respond (v. 32) and to remind ourselves how the energy anger provides should be used to solve problems and not create bigger ones.
At times we can handle anger preemptively too, by putting up stricter boundaries. By pre-prayin’ over what could happen, over what looks like will happen on your doorstep.. like when you see coming down the road that’s potentially too hard to take.. or even don’t see comin’ your way knowing God sees it all. Lord, help me be ready to respond wisely.
We are instructed to evaluate. We’re told to be discerning. The Bible says
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:15-16)
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matt. 10:16-20).
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” (Matt. 7:6).
Are they open to the truth, are they humbly teachable? Sometimes our anger leads us to recognize that certain people are unsafe for us to even be around. Limit your time with the lost, with the worldly, angry criminals, and carnal people. Be with them as God leads and you are being a good influence on them rather than being pulled down by by them spiritually. Otherwise just tactfully (graciously) get away and earnestly pray for them.
Give them the gift of space and pray for them. We can still forgive them in our hearts, but we may choose not to re-enter the relationship as friends.
Finally, we must act to solve our part of the problem. No vengeance type of pay-back-mode. You know, getting back at them.
“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom 12:17-21 nkjv)
Control what you can—your thoughts, your attitudes, your acts and all responses, all your conversations. You.
We cannot control how others act or respond to us, but we can make the changes that need to be made on our part. Why become a hot-head instead of a red-hot on-fire Christian for Jesus?
Overcoming a hot-temper is not accomplished overnight. Sanctification is a lifetime process, but if God won't quit on us (and He won't) then let's not quit on Him. But through prayer, Bible study and wise application (like found in Proverbs), and with daily reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit, ungodly anger can be overcome. We may have allowed anger to become entrenched in our lives by habitual practice, but we can also practice responding correctly until that, too, becomes a habit and God is glorified in our response. Facebook.com/ShareJesus
If you're a peace un-doer (a troublemaker on some level, which is not the best option), you can repent, you can believe in the One who came to change that, you together with the Lord can alter your course. He understands you and will forgive and bless you as you come to Him on His terms instead of on yours. Allow Jesus to heal you thoroughly.. to remove that war within via forgiveness. To take away the depression and the frustrations, to address the wounds and segments that don't make any sense in your life, to extract the spiritual jaundice and toxicity from the deep sorrow confusion and brokenness of relationships. The wrong anger can end on your end.
If you make peace upward the good results will be peace with those outward but seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then you can be used of God as a lasting peacemaker. You can seek to influence other towards the Prince of Peace as you walk tight with Him. Your hearers might not opt to turn or gain peace through a relationship with God, but you’ll sure have abundant peace towards and with God them.. towards those in your world around you. Talk about health and living well. It’ll help you in so many ways to walk in love.
“He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.” — Ephesians 2:1
O Prince of Peace, keep us, we pray,
From strife and enmity;
Help us to speak with loving words
That quell hostility. — JDB
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” — Jesus, in Matthew 5:9
How blest are those who persevere
To bring a conflict to an end;
And if the peace of Christ takes hold,
An enemy becomes a friend. — D. De Haan
