What the Bible Says about Anger (Part 1)

by John Nieder

THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNRESTRAINED ANGER

Anger produces more anger. When an angry person lashes out at others he causes them to become angry. In their anger they strike back and the instigator of the anger becomes all the more angry. It is this cycle of anger producing anger that is devastating many marriages.

Hatred (or anger) stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12

For the churning of milk produces butter, and pressing the nose brings forth blood; so the churning of anger produces strife. Proverbs 30:33

Anger becomes a pattern for which we pay a high price. An angry person can soon develop a pattern where anger is the dominant emotion of his or her life. In a very real sense a person can be dominated by anger. Eventually the “hot-tempered” person will pay for his outbursts. The penalty is generally the loss of important relationships.

A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. Proverbs 19:19

Anger invites us to act in foolish or even irrational ways. When we are angry we tend to say and do things that we would normally never do. We respond emotionally rather than according to biblical wisdom. These foolish actions create additional problems that tend to be fuel for additional anger.

A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated. Proverbs 14:17

Anger leads to additional sins. The wife who is angry with her husband feels she has every right to lash out at him for the way he has treated her. Her verbal darts bring him to his knees. The husband who feels rejected by his wife gets angry and convinces himself that he has the right to have an affair. An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. Proverbs 29:22

Anger places us in danger. When we allow ourselves to get angry with others it won’t be long before we encounter someone who retaliates and seeks to harm us. Anger directed toward a boss can lead to economic ruin. Anger directed to someone prone to violence can lead to physical harm and even death.

A king’s wrath is like the roar of a lion; he who angers him forfeits his life. Proverbs 20:2

Anger blinds us and causes us to walk in spiritual darkness. Hatred is anger directed at another. When we hate those that we are supposed to love it places us in spiritual darkness. The resulting spiritual confusion makes us vulnerable to Satan’s continued attack. We will continue to flail in the darkness until we resolve our anger and once again step back into the light of God’s Word.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. I John 2:9-11

Anger gives Satan an open door. Anger is a deeply spiritual issue. When we fail to resolve anger on a daily basis we open the door to Satan’s gaining an advantage in our lives. Then his flaming arrows of disruptive thoughts and feelings begin to inflict additional damage in our lives.

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27

YOUR RESPONSE

In what ways are you experiencing the consequences of your anger? Where have you seen your anger instigating anger in another? What are some of the penalties that you have had to pay because of your anger? What other sins have you committed that were a product of your anger? Are you walking in spiritual darkness because of your anger?

We will continue in a future newsletter with HOW TO CONTROL ANGER and HOW TO RESPOND TO AN ANGRY PERSON.