Feel Free: Anger
Monday Morning Commentary
To close out the series, Feel Free, Pastor Craig spoke about the emotion of Anger.
As with all emotions, anger is God-given. Therefore, we must learn how to handle this emotion properly.
Most people use anger without wisdom. This is evident when the results of anger are hurtful to others and to themselves. Paul instructs us to “be angry and sin not.” This means that there will be times that if we are not angry, we actually are sinning. But it is also sinful to be angry and use anger to hurt others. We can have healthy anger. And as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to follow His example of anger.
When Jesus got angry, he did so because He was defending something He loved. When you get angry, are you loving yourself or are you loving someone else? It’s important to be angry about the right things and in the right proportion. Jesus was angry at the money changers in the house of God because He was defending the people whom they were exploiting.
Paul instructs us to put on the new man. We’ve been made new. When we are angry, we should never forget that we’ve been forgiven much. Therefore, we are to offer forgiveness instead of seeking vengeance. In our anger, we are not to sin by allowing bitterness to fill our hearts toward another. Our anger should keep us in a place of humility so that we can extend grace as we have received it. “Do not be overcome by evil, not overcome evil with God” (Romans 12:21).
Our goal is to be like Jesus; therefore, our anger should be: redemptive, short-lived, and controlled. God’s anger toward our sin led to the plan of redemption. He offered Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to restore us to Himself. God didn’t stay angry. He chose to restore us. If your anger means more to you than the person with whom you are angry, you don’t understand the love of God.
“A fool gives vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (Proverbs 29:11). Jesus was not foolish in His anger because when He was angry He remained in control. You must examine the reason for your anger and ensure that you are controlled in your expression of it. If not, you’ll do more harm than good.
Most often the best way to handle our anger is to entrust it to God and choose to love and forgive.
Written by Michelle Craig