Get Rid of Anger
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4: 31, 32 NIV).
There is a lot of bitterness, rage and anger, and brawling in America today. Jesus and Paul tell us that these negative emotions are incredibly destructive for us personally, and therefore, I assume, for the nation made up of angry citizens. While a lot of what I read in the media and social media today astonishes me (not in a good way), my heart hurts for all the anger in America and the world, because I know that as bad as it makes me feel, the person carrying the anger and hatred is really hurting, being hurt, and hurting the people they love around them. In this post I examine anger through the eyes of Jesus and Paul.
Anger is a strong negative emotion characterized by antagonism toward something or someone you feel has deliberately done you wrong; a strong negative emotion of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. We feel anger on a spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is disappointment or frustration. In the middle of the spectrum is what someone might call ‘upset’, as “I am upset with him”. At the other end of the spectrum is hatred. And depression is anger turned inward.
Some types of anger are not related to sin. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus equates anger with murder. . . Jesus is referring to the anger or resentment that we carry in our hearts, that sits there year after year, releasing poison into our lives and the lives of the people around us.
But the Bible is very specific about anger:
In Genesis, speaking to Cain, God says, “Why are you angry? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” Cain felt devalued; Abel was getting all the praise. God goes on to say, “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4: 6, 7 NIV). Anger releases sin, which will control you. You must master ‘it’. What is ‘it’? Probably both the anger and the sin, but for sure the anger. As we know, Cain’s anger led to murder.
“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, NIV translation. The Greek word for foothold is topos, as in topography, which means to me that when we are angry satan can get a beachhead into our heart).
“If you are angry, be sure that it is not a sinful anger. Never go to bed angry – don’t give the devil that sort of foothold” (Ephesians 4: 26 Phillips translation).
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4: 31, 32 NIV).
“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3: 8 NIV).
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret – it leads only to evil” (Psalm 37: 8 NIV).
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one so easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get ensnared” (Proverbs 22: 24 NIV).
“An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins” (Proverbs 29: 22 NIV).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically says that anger with a brother or sister is murder! He says:
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder’, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (“But I say to you, whosoever is remaining angry with a brother or sister will have to face judgment” translation from Bruner). Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca’ (you ‘idiot’ from Bruner) is answerable to the Sanhedrin (the ‘supreme court’ from Bruner). But anyone who says, ‘You fool’ (‘You jerk’) will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5: 21, 22 NIV).
The Bruner translation is from Dale Bruner’s commentary on Matthew.
The Greek word for “whoever is angry with” in this passage is orgizomenos – the root word for the English word ‘orgy’.
In this famous passage the words “your brother” can mean fellow Christians; they can also mean ‘anyone’, just as the word ‘neighbor’ does. Who is my neighbor? Everyone! Who is my brother or sister in Jesus’ admonition? Everyone!
Why is Jesus so upset about anger and its various forms such as bitterness, resentment, frustration with another, disappointment, rage, and hatred? Bruner in his commentary on Matthew tells us:
“What is new in this command is that beyond the law that protects life (“you shall not commit murder”), Jesus now protects persons (“you shall not continue angry”). God’s will is badly injured in every angry confrontation. Calling others abusive names in Jesus’ time was not thought grossly evil: Jesus, on the contrary, says here that name calling deserves the severest judgment. Words that take from persons their honor before other persons are placed under God’s wrath of judgment” (Bruner, pg. 212).
I believe that Jesus is not just talking about spoken words, but also about what is in your heart toward another. After all, that is where anger resides.
Jesus is not speaking about the type of anger that flares up and quickly dies down. He is not forbidding all anger. The Greek literally means ‘carrying anger’ or ‘remaining’ angry. It does not refer to a single moment of anger. ‘Resentment’ might be a better word for Jesus’ meaning, because resentment is a continuing or carried anger. Although a single moment of anger, or blowing up, is not harmless.
One more quote from Bruner:
“There is an English proverb that fits here: “He is a fool who cannot be angry; but he is wise who will not remain so.” Anger is often involuntary and at least for a moment legitimate: many situations call for anger. It is exactly at the birth of anger, therefore, that Jesus’ Command kicks in: What will we do with it? Prolong it or master it (as God called Cain to do)? Cave in to it or creatively use it? Confront the sinning-other first or confront our own sinful disposition first? Jesus obviously calls first for self-mastery. There are more creative ways to respond to anger’s promptings than simply continuing angry” (pg. 209).
But lest we feel too comfortable with momentary anger, Watchman Nee issues this warning:
“Anger is one of the most crude forms of human feelings. But the Bible does not prohibit us to be angry, because some types of anger are not related to sin (Ephesians 4: 26). Nonetheless, anger of any kind is so strong that it nearly always borders on sin . . . anger is always close to the vicinity of sin” (The Release of the Spirit, pg. 32).
Paul summarizes this teaching on anger in his letter to the Galatians:
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, first of rage (anger), selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5: 16 – 21 NIV).
In this Galatians passage, Paul gives us deeper insight into why anger and other negative emotions (jealousy, shame, unforgiveness, etc.) are destructive. They lock us into the kingdom of the world, they prevent us from becoming free from the grip of satan. When we are angry or operating in any of the other negative emotions, “we do not do what we want to do.” That is the definition of slavery. We open doors into our soul through which the demonic can pass to oppress, control, and harden our hearts. A veil of spiritual flesh around our heart grows thicker, and we are removed even further from God’s presence and His voice.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger . . . along with every form of malice.”
How do we get rid of anger? We repent! Jesus commands us to repent; He just doesn’t tell us how. Here is how – we confess our anger and identify the ones we are angry with (including ourselves or God, if appropriate), renounce the anger, forgive and bless the person who hurt us or who we are angry with, and then literally give the anger to Jesus in our mind.
In my experience, most of the time this process is followed, Jesus begins to release us from anger. He begins to replace the anger with freedom, an unoffendable heart, and the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5: 22. 23). I have seen people released from years of anger within a few minutes; often it takes longer, but Jesus shows up. Not uncommonly, when I pray for people who have carried anger for decades, at the end of the prayer session they say, “I feel lighter”.
Paul writes in Colossians:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, with binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3: 12 – 15 NIV).
Notice that these are God’s commands to us – we must do these things. We must clothe ourselves, we must forgive, we must put on love, and we must let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. True, we must choose/decide to do these things – we have a role to play in repentance. But none of this is possible outside of the Kingdom of God, where we have the indwelling Holy Spirit and can come into the presence and power of God. After all, it is the peace of Christ, not my peace! That is why repenting: confessing, renouncing, forgiving and blessing, and releasing negative emotions to Jesus is essential to a life of freedom, joy, and peace. A life in His presence, walking in His power, and hearing His voice. A fulfilled life!
Peace,
John