DEALING WITH ANGER

Ps. 4:4  Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.  Think about it overnight and remain silent.

     Many of us would just as soon not think about our anger issues.  Some of us have short fuses and easily fly off the handle.  We get angry at people who cross us, do stupid things, or say things that get under our skin.  We get angry at unexpected turn of events that disrupt our peace and tranquility.  We get angry at ourselves when we do not meet up to our expectations.  We get angry a lot over people and things that really don’t deserve our wrath.  Anger is an emotion that nearly everyone experiences from time to time.

     There are times in which anger is a good thing.  In a proper context anger motivates us to do something about things that we otherwise would not do.  There are times in which sin and injustices must be addressed.  There are times in which we have to take a stand for righteousness.  Apart from righteous anger, anger is not good for the soul.

     We really run into a problem when our anger controls us.  When we react under the influence of anger, it’s rarely anything but a bad thing.  We tend to say and do things out of anger that we later regret.  We hurt people and things when we are out of control. 

     When anger controls us then the Holy Spirit is not controlling us and the Scriptures tell us that one of the ways that we can tell that we are under the control of the Spirit is self-control.  When anger controls us we have a spiritual problem.  We need to confess our sin problem and ask the Lord to take control of it.  Jesus cannot be our Lord while we have an anger problem.

     What angers you?  Take a deep breath, walk away from the explosive situation, think about what is going on, let the Lord calm you down, and let it go.  You do not need to have your way.  Wise is he who is able to just be quiet when things don’t go his way.  It is far better to just be wronged and hurt than it is to be angry and hurt others.  In the long run, the only real loser when anger is in control of you is you.  Give your angry heart over to the Lord and let Him defuse it.