You are surrounded by anger. Fury simmers in almost everyone and it doesn’t take much to trigger it.
Although this might be the case for most people, a Christian won’t allow anger to stay long. It’s not good for you and it isn’t good for your relationship with God. “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).
Many of us are quick to point out that anger is not a sin. But we also need to be just as quick to point out that it often does lead to sin. It’s one of the best ways for Satan to get a grip on you. “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:27). That last part can also be translated as “do not give the devil a foothold.” A foothold implies progress. Our enemy tries to dig his foot in so he can climb higher. Chronic anger provides that foothold.
Anger sets the stage for all kinds of sins. One of the most likely ones is the sin of malicious words. This means more than foul language. The Bible condemns “unwholesome” words.
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
The word “unwholesome” essentially means “rotten.” It comes from the word sapros. Biologists use this concept to categorize a specific kind of plant: a saprophyte. It’s a plant that grows on dead things. It thrives on decay. Regardless of the faint connection here, the concept is useful to us. When our words thrive on bad stuff, that’s probably not a good thing.
There’s a part of Ephesians that should grab our attention. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31). We might be cleared for anger, but our words can never be malicious.
One of the best ways for your words to go wrong is to get mad and stay mad. This is how you find yourself saying things that a Christian shouldn’t say. The writer Ambrose Bierce put it rather well. “Speak when you’re angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”
There’s a song that Christians have sung for generations. Not long ago, the words were changed in some of the books. Originally, the song “Angry Words” had a different verse. The change is understandable. More than likely, the editors felt like the original was a little harsh.
This is the current version:
Show our love to one another with abundance of kind words.
This is the original version:
Brightest links of life are broken by a single angry word.
As brutal as this truth might be, it’s still the truth. Words can do profound damage. Forgiveness and love can heal, but any Christian is highly aware of the danger of anger.
The standard for our words is very high. “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6). For our purposes, the key word here might be “always.” Anger never gives anyone an option to bypass this command.
This gets complicated because of one particular aspect of our human nature. We tend to gather people into our lives who think the way we do. That can be a good thing, but it can also create a system where we enable each other toward a bad mindset. We can be angry together. As the writer Gary Zukav pointed out, “Angry people attract angry people and live in an angry world and this validates their opinion that the world is angry.”
Christians are commanded to “encourage one another” (I Thessalonians 5:11). Providing fuel for someone’s anger isn’t all that encouraging. Paul did ask for prayers for his boldness (Ephesians 6:19). And there’s definitely something to be said for zeal (John 2:17). Encouraging each other to be bold and have zeal—that could work. But none of that can ever lead to raising a fist in the air and chanting with fury.
A Christian sets out each day to “rejoice always” (I Thessalonians 5:16). There’s that word again—“always.” It’s probably hard to rejoice always if you’re angry always.
On top of this, our technology also nurtures animosity. We are still reeling from the ramifications of the internet. One significant side-effect is a general lack of empathy between people who interact through screens. This cold distance allows people to treat each other as less than people. They post things they would never say to anyone’s face.
It’s easy to find plenty of those on social media expressing whatever comes to mind. They’re not really trying to sway anyone’s thinking. They’re just picking a fight. There are mean, mean people on the internet. They thrive on social decay. A Christian can’t be a part of that.
For any Christian, anger is a serious consideration. There was even one time when God pulled someone aside to warn him about it. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:6-7). For Cain, sin was crouching at his door—and anger opened it. A mnemonic device might be useful to someone with Cain’s mindset: ANGER is one letter short of DANGER.
Maybe anger is like an air force jet and you’re the pilot. As a pilot you do have clearance to fly a fighter jet and there might come a time to jump in and get something done. But fighter jet pilots have a checklist before they leap into the sky and they certainly don’t fly around in their jets all the time.
Anger is something that shouldn’t be used very often. Even when it does surface, a Christian uses it with extreme care. As far as God is concerned, a primary, defining characteristic of a Christian is love. (Matthew 22:37-40; John 13:35). That means a Christian is known by their love, not their anger.
bret@rockymountainchristian.com
