When You’re Angry…
Ephesians 4:26
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
Growing up, how did your family deal with anger?
There is such a thing as righteous anger. The problem with righteous anger is it usually doesn’t stay righteous very long. As we think about what made us angry, we often stir in self-righteousness, with just a hint of blame and condemnation, until our angry stew is fully ready to serve our new situational enemy. Now we are ready to share with our transgressor what they did wrong in an aggressive way that demands they submit to my truth or suffer the consequences.
We might decide to bottle everything up deep inside causing us real medical issues that come with suppressed anger. Once we have suppressed our wrath long enough, depression starts to set in, and we don’t know why because we are denying reality and living a lie that everything is fine when we’re really about to explode.
So how can we face our anger without hurting the people we are angry with?
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Confess it! Be honest about how you are feeling but leave the judgement of the situation to the Lord. Denying how you feel will cause you to bury your anger until you explode or give up. No matter how you learned to process your anger growing up, you don’t have to live that way for lifetime of bitterness and rage. Also, confess how you responded over time, to God.
How does God want you to handle your anger?