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Can anger be a “character?” Yes, when it is constrained! The Bible tells us that it is OK to be angry, but, not to allow it to cause one to sin! Jesus saw His house of worship and prayer turned into a market, and modeled to us the correct way to channel our hostility in fervent action. Anger can be a solution, or a real problem, depending on how you handle it (Proverbs 14:29, 15:18; 16:32; 29:11; 22; Ecclesiastes 7:9; Matthew 18:15-17; 21:12-13; Romans 1:18; Ephesians 4:25-27; James 1:19-21)!
What happens when we do not have it under control? We venture into the land of hostility, the opposite of God’s call to us! Hostility becomes evil, a rotten fruit, when anger is unhitched from our temper and control. They will harden our hearts, and cause us to become people who do not forgive, filled with resentfulness, contempt, defensiveness, bitterness, pride, critical nature, and withdrawal. They kill, they cause wars and hatred, they destroy relationships, society, and, put an end to our effectiveness in being a reflection of Christ’s character and call.
Anger, in and of itself, is not wrong; it is not a sin if we handle it in the parameters of the Fruit of the Spirit, and Love. If it was wrong, God would be wrong, because, there are over 600 instances in Scripture of God being angry. Jesus Himself would have been a sinner, as well, when He became very angry in the temple. God was Just in His anger. God’s anger is called righteous indignation, having a just cause and reason for it. And, that reason is our sin, and willful disobedience to His perfect love and care.
When we get angry, we have to ask if there is a just cause for it; if not, it is dangerous and volatile. It will soon become sin, as we lose our control and our temper. We are called to stay in control of our temper, which the Bible calls to be sober, and under self control! Self control is the governor to our Anger, and these two characters must work in unison, lest we lose the soberness of our temper, as well as eventually losing the other characters. When we have self control, anger can give us the motivation to resolve problems, respond to injustice, get God’s point across, or get our attention, so we move in a better direction. Anger can convict us of sin, and place us back on God's path. Anger can help us get a point across that would not be heard otherwise, as Nehemiah did.
When we experience disappointments, frustration, and hurt, we will come face to face with anger, because anger is a response to our circumstances. Thus, when we are let down, we get angry. We have to ask, how do we handle disappointments? If not, we will lose control of our temper, and be representative of the ways of the world and the Devil, not Christ. We will cause destruction to His Church, to His people, and to all those around us! We have to know that people will always disappoint us, which will cause frustration and hurt, period! We cannot expect others to always treat us justly. Where our expectations or hopes are not realized, when we do not get what we want, or attain our goals, there will be anger. Pain and hurt that are inflicted upon us will cause anger. Disappointments create frustrations which lead to hurt. Each one of these is impacting to our emotions, and each one is codependent on the other, as each one will cause the other two to flare up. Each one can quickly tilt our temper into uncontrolled anger. When we are wise to our circumstances, with our eyes upon Christ, we can have a better grip on our temper.
The key to handling anger is the ability to look past the annoyance, pain, and hurt we experience. Then, we can seek resolve to the issue in the framework of Galatians 5:22-23, and not Galatians 5:19-21. This is done by effective communication, understanding, and seeking reconciliation. It is to be a time of prayer. When we keep those who “bug” us in prayer, we can have a better control, and response, in good Christ-like character. If we do not handle our response to our circumstances in the right way, and let the pain overwhelm us, controlling our emotions and character, then, we will be unable to embrace healing.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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