“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.” HCSB
Is anger a sin? It depends on what you mean when you ask the question. If you mean is it a sin to get angry, then your answer is no. If you mean is it a sin to harbor anger and keep it in until it becomes malice, then your answer is yes. Do you think that Jesus, who never sinned, was not angry when He cleansed the temple, or when He called the Pharisees a bunch of snakes and vipers? Ephesians 4:26-27 gives the answer: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil.” If a person tells you that he or she never gets angry, you need to ask him or her if they are zombies. I think that it is impossible not to get angry about some things. If one never gets angry, he or she has no feelings. The first emotion that we express when we are born is anger. How many times have you heard of a baby coming from the womb laughing? They aren’t laughing, and they aren’t laughing because they have been removed from that nice warm, safe environment in their mother’s womb, where they were constantly fed to a lot of light and noise. On top of that, they are whacked on the bottom to get their breathing started. It’s like they are saying, “How dare you take me from this warm environment and then whack me on the bottom?” Does this mean, then, that anger is a good thing? It is a good thing if it helps us to give expression to the frustrations, etc. of this life. I have not read one humorous article about the fellow who killed those children and teachers in Connecticut. I have not read one article that agreed that he needed to take his anger to that level. I have read plenty of articles in which the authors were angry – and they should have been. When I read about our service men and women being killed and maimed in Afghanistan by people who are supposed to be our friends, I get angry, and I think you do too. I can think of any number of things that I get angry about and you can too. We are not sinning when we get angry about such things. But the point is to get angry, express it to either ourselves or someone else, and get over it. Let’s go back to Ephesians 4:26-27, which reminds us that we can be angry and not sin. Then it reminds us that we are not to let the “sun go down on our wrath.” This is Paul’s way of saying “get over it.” Further, it reminds us that when we do let the sun go down our wrath we are giving “place to the devil.” Anger is a natural emotion, but the devil, who “walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour,”encourages you to take that anger into your heart and let it control your thinking. The devil wants to use your anger to destroy you by turning it into malice. The American Century Dictionary defines malice as: “desire to harm or cause difficulty to others; ill will…harmful intent.” This is where we need to check our anger quotient. Is your anger causing you to have Ill will towards someone? Is your anger causing you to want to “harm or cause difficulty” to others? Has your anger reduced you to have “harmful intent“ toward someone? If so, it has become sin and you are giving place to the devil. I have never heard anyone say, “Gosh, I hope I am considered to be a fool by other people.” According to Proverbs 29:11, my inspiration for this article:“A fool gives full vent to his (or her) anger, but a wise man (or woman) holds it in check.” Whatever you are angry about or whoever you are angry at, GET OVER IT! That is what the Bible tells you to do. I think you will agree that if the world heeded the Bible on this score, we would have a better world. Make your world better and do not give “full vent” to your anger. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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