Anger

I know that I promised to write about anger. Sooner. And now it's later. Phew! I can't get away with anything anymore. You guys certainly hold me accountable. :) That's a good thing. I tend to write about the things that I am dealing with the most. And you know, anger doesn't rank very high up there for me. Read Anger and Fear. But I know that it's a real struggle for most people, so here goes. Biblical ways to deal with anger: 1. Psalm 37:8 - "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath." Cut it out. Stop it! Know that it doesn't please God, and exercise a little self control. It makes me a little crazy when people say they can't control their anger. That's like me saying I can't control my fear. My fear means that I am NOT under God's control. Your anger means the same thing. Period. 2. James 1:19 - "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." When you find yourself getting angry, CLOSE YOUR MOUTH. Zip it! This is the worst thing about anger, besides the fact that you are separating yourself from God. You cause damage with your words spoken in anger. Words that have not gone through any filter, let alone God's filter. Words that can never be taken back. I wrote in Anger and Fear that the only advantage that fear has over anger is that with fear you are paralyzed, and so there is less mess to clean up afterward. But some messes can't be cleaned up. So be careful and don't speak at all until the worst of the anger has passed. 3. Ephesians 4:26-27 - "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil." Hmmmm. Two good points. First, pure anger is not the problem. It's our fleshly reaction to that anger that is the problem. Be angry and sin not. God talks of His anger often in the Word of God. But in God there is no sin. Jesus was angry when He saw the moneychangers in the temple. He acted without sin. Jesus never sinned. You can read about that in the post on Anger and Fear, as well. And then, neither give place to the devil. Are you kidding me? How scary is that?!? Wowsers, that should scare you straight! 4. Proverbs 29:11 - "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." Ha! Good one! Go back to number two and try again. 5. Proverbs 16:32 - "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." 2 Timothy 2:24 - "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient..." Galatians 5:22-26 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Controlling anger is a sign of a mature and Spirit-filled Christian. Now don't think that I am boasting in myself when I say that. This one is easy for me. Controlling my fear is a sign of a mature and Spirit-filled Christian, too. And you know I'm still working on that. We are all still working on these things. And anyone still living in this fleshly, sinful body who tells you otherwise is a liar. These things are not easy. But we should be trying. Always aiming to be more like Jesus and giving the Lord more control. More of Him and less of me. Funny how everything always goes back to that. God's control of me. Me abiding in Him. Through much prayer. Through leaning in hard on Him. And through God's Word. Through good preaching and your own study. You've gotta want it. Bad! His perfect strength in my emptiness and weakness.