Does God Have a Good Purpose for Our Anger?
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Anger permeates our life. It only takes one quick glance at the world around us to see examples of people struggling with anger. Dad throws the remote at the TV because the coach called the wrong play. Brother kicks his sister’s favorite doll because mom told him to get off the Xbox. Grandpa goes on one of his infamous tirades about everything wrong with the upcoming generations of young people.
First, notice the timeframe when Paul states, “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” In other words, resolve your anger quickly. Treat it like a hot potato. Don’t allow it to fester in your heart. Why? Because it provides the devil with an opportunity to tempt the believer to deal with their anger in a sinful way, such as embracing sinful attitudes or acting out in destructive ways. God intended anger to be short-lived. However, when we fail to deal with an issue quickly and decide to harbor anger in our hearts, our sinful, selfish tendencies will find a wicked solution to deal with it.
Godly anger:
1) Is prompted by a love for God above all else and a desire for His will to be accomplished
2) Revolves around an actual sin and not a personal preference or selfish desire
3) Earnestly loves the person and desires their well-being and restoration
4) Brings a response marked by self-control, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23). That means a believer’s behavior is controlled, calculated, appropriate, and beneficial.
Have you ever made a mess of things by speaking too soon? Have you ever constructed a perfectly rational narrative in your head to explain a person’s behavior, only to discover what you assumed to be true had absolutely nothing to do with what was truly going on with that person?
The problem with sinful people is because of our pride, we assume we’re smart enough to figure everything out ourselves and we don’t need anyone to instruct or inform us. In all honesty, we are much more ignorant than we care to admit. Making vital decisions and judgments out of ignorance benefits no one and leads to further problems. Sometimes major ones.
More times than not, our anger arises from a hasty assessment of a situation. We are not omniscient like God. Our default position on most occasions is one of ignorance. We see just enough to get ourselves worked up with faulty assumptions and an overactive imagination. This is why Proverbs tells us a man of understanding is slow to anger (Proverbs 14:29). Such a person is self-controlled and knows better than to get swept away in a hasty fit of anger, because they understand only a small part of the picture is visible in their initial experience. They need more information before they can make an accurate assessment. This rings true for every believer.
Many of us would have to admit, there’s room for improvement when it comes to dealing with our anger. Here are some questions we can ask to help us assess our anger:
1. Why am I angry? Is it because I desire God’s will or my own?
2. Is there an actual sin involved? Or am I just not getting my way? What passage of Scripture supports my reasoning?
3. Do I truly know enough information to make an accurate assessment, or am I making assumptions?
4. Do I have unfair, unrealistic, or selfish expectations of others? Did I contribute to my own problem in any way?
5. Do I want the problem to be resolved for the sake of the other person, or for my own convenience?
6. Have I exemplified Christ-like behavior in the way I’ve responded? Am I reflecting the love, patience and grace God has shown me?
As Christians, may we do better in reflecting the love and grace we’ve received in Christ.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Daniel Villeneuve
