I was upset about something. Perhaps even angry. I can’t remember what or why.
Standing next to my little brother in his stroller, I refused to smile, or even look at the camera. My face turned down to the ground, I was scowling.
On this day out to the beach with my mother, brothers and sister, aunt and cousins, I didn’t join in the sandcastle building. I preferred to sulk over, I presume, a trivial matter as I no longer remember what it was. However, I do remember that when the sandcastles were built and my siblings and cousins went to do other things, I stamped on each sandcastle.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? (Genesis 4:6).
Nobody was hurt in the sandcastles incident. I’m not even sure if anyone remembers it. Perhaps it never happened and only in my mind did I imagine flattening those sandcastles.
Cain, however, couldn’t get a grip on his anger and even though he knew he had the option to do what was right, he let his temper get out of control and he killed his brother.
The Bible is clear that anger can lead to bad decisions for any of us.
An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins (Proverbs 29:22).
Of course, there is “righteous” anger. But, I think we can fool ourselves into believing we are angry for a good cause and valid reason. Overall, the Bible tells us that human anger is difficult to control and can often lead to bad consequences.
So what do we do?
We can take notice of this practical advice:
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare (Proverbs 15:1).
We’ve all been on the receiving end of harsh words, and boy, don’t they make us angry and upset. But we can also be the person dishing out cruel and cutting comments because, well, we think it’s the only way to deal with annoying people, or those who are in the wrong. Yet, the Bible encourages us to do the opposite, be gentle.
Here’s another piece of advice:
Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life (Ephesians 4:26-27).
One of the best ways to deal with our anger is to bring it to God. He knows exactly what we’re thinking and feeling, so why not be honest with him about the person who’s making your blood boil, who you feel like “murdering,” or at least walking out on or giving a piece of your mind.
God is our way out when we’re tempted to let the enemy get a foothold. We leave it with a morally right God to decide what is deserved.
We have examples of prayers to follow in the Psalms. So often the Psalmist tells God what he thinks his enemies should deserve. Read Psalm 109. We get the impression he leaves the matter with God rather than taking revenge. We should also remember we are dealing with God who is gracious, not only to us but also to others, because he is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8).
Take the advice of Psalm 37 next time you’re angry:
Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him… Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse (Psalm 37:7-8 MSG).
Pray
