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Making Better Thought-Movies One Truth At A Time

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Understanding the
Awful Power of Anger

 


Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure aroused by a wrong.

It can be a sorrow, a grief which can rise to levels of wrath, rage, irritation and violent frustration.

Here Moses's wrath and frustration is displayed against the people for building a golden calf to worship when he was on Mt. Sinai...


Why do we get angry?

The problem with anger is that it opens the door for us to use it destructively and do and say things we usually would never say or do...




Cain fumed, became depressed, and killed his brother because his "offering" was rejected by GOD and Abel's was accepted. Genesis 4.3-7    Cain could not stand the fact that Abel did it the right way. Cain was jealous.


Haman was filled with rage when Mordecai refuse to bow before the king. Esther 3.1-6

When we do not get the respect we think we should have, we flip out!

This is when we don't get our own way, or have a self-imposed level of how important we are...



When our pride gets hurt becomes a reason to vent frustration...

Numbers 22.29 Balaam shouted out that he felt he was made to look like a fool. Balaam's donkey stopped at seeing an angel...


This passage perfectly illustrates the right and wrong usage of anger...

Uzziah became proud and violated the spiritual protocol that GOD had set up in the sanctuary.

Azariah and 80 priests were correctly upset and called Uzziah the king on his arrogance and forbidden activity...

They challenged Uzziah's sin.

Uzziah was "wroth" - that is, he was  pretty upset. He refused to stop what he was doing...

GOD steps in. Suddenly, judgment hits Uzziah in the form of leprosy on his forehead.

Uzziah had become too self important and refused to do things GOD's way...

2 Chronicles 26.16-21 "But at that point he became proud—and corrupt. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar. 17-18 Azariah the High Priest went in after him with eighty other priests, all brave men, and demanded that he get out.

“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense,” they declared. “That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to this work. Get out, for you have trespassed, and the Lord is not going to honor you for this!”

19 Uzziah was furious and refused to set down the incense burner he was holding. But look! Suddenly—leprosy appeared on his forehead! 20 When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out because the Lord had struck him.

21 So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death and lived in isolation, cut off from his people and from the Temple. His son Jotham became vice-regent, in charge of the king’s affairs and of the judging of the people of the land.


Esau came in from the hunting fields and smelled the stew and then he said, "I am so tired. Give me some of that lentil soup." Jacob made a deal. Sell me your birthright, you can have the soup...

Esau hated Jacob because he had "stolen" his birthright. He said to himself "I will kill Jacob" - he was planning to do just that when someone told Rebekah...

She urged Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban's house. He did.

Anger separates and destroys family relationships...



Stop your Anger

Saul did not accept that GOD had already chosen David as the next king based on his character...

1 Samuel 20.30-32 "Saul boiled with rage. “You fool!” he yelled at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want this son of a nobody to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? 31 As long as that fellow is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”

32 “But what has he done?” Jonathan demanded. “Why should he be put to death?”


Thoughts to consider...

Proverbs 15.1

"A gentle answer turns away wrath!"


“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.” (Matthew 21:12-14)

Be motivated by love, not anger. Let us be angry at the sin.


James 1.19-20 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God."

In simple terms: It doesn't work!


Mark 3.1-5 "While in Capernaum Jesus went over to the synagogue again, and noticed a man there with a deformed hand.

Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. Would he heal the man’s hand? If he did, they planned to arrest him!

Jesus asked the man to come and stand in front of the congregation. Then turning to his enemies he asked, “Is it all right to do kind deeds on Sabbath days? Or is this a day for doing harm? Is it a day to save lives or to destroy them?” But they wouldn’t answer him. 5 Looking around at them angrily, for he was deeply disturbed by their indifference to human need, he said to the man, “Reach out your hand.” He did, and instantly his hand was healed!

Jesus looked angrily at those who sought to condemn his healing of the man with a withered hand...



Avoid hot tempered people...

Proverbs 22:24,25 "Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul."


Being calm does not mean we must never speak in a way that expresses anger by tone or volume. Such anger is not necessarily wrong.

But don't speak to -

  • hurt
  • get even
  • antagonize
  • Stay calm enough to say what is "helpful."
  • If the other person loses it, then you speak to show you are under control.

Work to solve the problem that caused the rage...

Sadly, we lower ourselves to attack the person, instead of attacking the problem...

  • find out what really angered you or the other person
  • separate the act of anger from the person
  • seek to destroy the sin problem and yet help the person who is angry
  • if an issue is not worth the emotional response, diffuse it's power
  • if it is imaginary or totally unreasonable to worry over, say so
  • isolate fact from fiction
  • if the issue is legit, what actions are reasonable to take?
  • holding a grudge solves nothing, but will eat you up
  • GO and talk to the person who caused the problem -  Matthew 5:22-24; (Luke 17:3,4) - Being angry without cause is not right; neither is saying cruel, hurtful things. If you have something against someone, or if they have something against you, either way go talk.
  • talk for the purpose of being reconciled. [Matt. 18:15-17]
  • Ephesians 4:26 - Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Do not let it fester. Deal with it as soon as possible. The longer the problem simmers, the harder it will be to reach a resolution...
  • say only what is necessary to solve the problem...keep the past out of the conversation. Nothing is gained by trying to get advantage by piling onto the other individual - you want to solve the problem, right?
  • be willing to listen in case you may be wrong, or misunderstand, or have incomplete information
  • do not be quick to jump to conclusions and be like those who condemned and judged Joseph, had him jailed - even when he was not guilty of any inappropriate thoughts or behavior
  • attend to your own sin. Judge only your own sins. Matthew 7.3-5
  • be quick to apologize to anyone your words or actions may have hurt - the magic words are - "I was wrong. I am sorry. Please forgive me."
  • It's amazing how powerful and healing these few words are!



There is no "righteous anger" for us to participate in. Only the Righteous Judge has the credentials. GOD is not angry to be mean or selfish. We don't qualify!

"A wise man restrains his anger and overlooks insults. This is to his credit." Proverbs 19.11



Our assignment for the rest of our lives is...

Ephesians 4.31-32 "Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people. 32 You must be kind to each other. Think of the other person. Forgive other people just as God forgave you because of Christ’s death on the cross."  New Life Version

Let's get to work!


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Making Better Thought-Movies One Truth At A Time

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