1.
Jerry
defines anger as “a strong feeling of displeasure, and usually of
antagonism…often accompanied by sinful emotions, words, and actions hurtful to
those who are the objects of [the] anger.” To what extent do you think anger
has permeated our homes, friendships, and churches? Why?
I think that most people
think of anger as a smoldering hot loud passionate emotion. I see it also as a
quiet fog that floats in and clouds the vision. In the church universal there
is anger among the brethren as debates rage about things that some brethren
have not yet come to knowledge on. In our friendships and families we do the
same. Where grace and love should be offered freely we tend to become hard and
prideful, causing anger in ourselves and anger in others. As I said in an
earlier lesson, Andy and I were Armenian when we were new believers, had
someone approached us then with the doctrine of election we would have scoffed,
in fact I think we did. I know though, that God in His perfect timing allows us
to hear and receive His message when He desires it. Some men plant, some men
water, but ONLY God can cause those seeds to grow. We do not understand His
timing, only He does. So there is no reason to get angry when you’ve told
someone something for the 657, 984th time and they keep doing the
same things they’ve always done. God is still on HIS throne and He is STILL in
control of every molecule. Chill.
2.
Contrast
what the bible reveals about righteous anger with what it says about sinful
anger.
a.) Righteous Anger (self-controlled arises
from an accurate perception of evil, focuses on God and His will)
Exodus 32:15-20 “And Moses turned and went down from the
mountain with the tow tables of the testimony in his hand, tables or tablets
that were written on both sides. The tablets were the work of God; the writing
was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise
of the people he said to Moses, “There is noise of war in the camp.” But Moses
said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, nor is it the sound of the
cry of the defeated, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he
came near to the camp he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses anger blazed
hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the
mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it with fire, and
ground it into a fine powder and scattered it onto the water and made the
Israelites drink it.”
Nehemiah 5:1-8 “Now there arose a great cry of the [poor]
people and of their wives [driven to borrowing} against their Jewish brethren
[the few who could afford to lend. For some said, We, our sons and daughters,
are many; therefore allow us to take grain that we may eat and live! If we are
not given grain let us take it! Also, some said, We are mortgaging our lands,
vineyards, and houses to buy grain because of the scarcity. Others said, We
have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards to pay the [Persian] kings
heavy tax. Although our flesh is the same as that of our brethren and our
children are as theirs, yet we are forced to sell our children as slaves; some
of our daughters have already been thus sold, and we are powerless to redeem
them, for others have our lands and vineyards. I [Nehemiah] was very angry when
I heard their cry and these words. I thought it over and then rebuked the nobles
and officials. I told them, “You are expecting interest from your own kinsmen.”
And I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, “We, according to our
ability, have brought back our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations;
but will you even sell your brethren, that they may be sold to us? Then they
were silent and found not a word to say.”
Matthew 21:12-13 “And Jesus went into the temple [the whole
temple enclosure] and drove out all who bought and sold in the sacred place and
He turned over the four-footed tables of the money changers and the chairs of
those who sold doves. He said to them, “The Scripture says, ‘My house shall be
called a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers.’”
b. Sinful Anger (sinful reactions to people’s
actions and words)
Matthew 5:22 “But I say to you that everyone who
continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice [enmity of heart]
against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by
the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother
shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the
Sanhedrin, and who ever says “You cursed fool!” [you empty-headed idiot!] shall
be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire.”
Galatians 5:19-20 “Now the doings of the flesh are clear
[obvious]: they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity,
strife, jealousy, anger, (ill-temper) selfishness, divisions, [dissensions] party spirit, (factions, sects with particular
opinions, heresies.”
Ephesians 4:29-31 “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil
word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only
such [speech] such as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of
others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing
and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it. And do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God [do not offend, or vex, or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed
(marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final
deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Let all
bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment
(anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) slander
(evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all
malice (spite, ill-will, or baseness of any kind).”
3.
Read
Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13. What guidance do these verses offer for
guarding our attitude toward people whose words or actions tempt us to be
impatient, irritable and/or angry?
Ephesians 4:32 “And become useful and helpful and kind to
one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted),
forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.”
Colossians 3:13 “Be gentle and forbearing with one another
and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another,
readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so
must you also [forgive].
We are being cautioned to
be tenderhearted, compassionate, understanding and loving-hearted towards one
another. We are to be gentle and to forebear with one another. To ‘forbear’
means to be patient or self-controlled when subject to annoyance or
provocation. AND when one has a difference or a complaint against another we
are to readily pardon one another JUST as the Lord has forgiven us. OUCH! I
know that I don’t always do this, and it IS easier to do this with some people
than with others…and especially when the person is SINCERE. Perhaps this is what
Paul means when the amplified expands the meaning to ‘troublesome moral
faults’?
When I ponder this though I
am always, ALWAYS reminded of the parable of the servant (in Matthew 18) who was forgiven a large debt by the king and
then went out and grabbed his fellow attendant and had him thrown in prison for
a small debt that was owed to him. If we recognize that we have truly been
forgiven then we will freely forgive. I have often struggled with the sincerity
of my previous pastor’s apology to my husband and me. There are many reasons to
doubt him, but one of the other elders who helped me through that time and
remains a close friend to this day always says this to me whenever the issue
arises (and thankfully those times are fewer and farther between) “In the end, everyone either gets full
pardon or mercy for every thought, word and deed. We either escape what we
deserve or we receive mercy.” That’s the cold, hard reality of the
situation…you or I are no better than our fellow attendant. Our debt is equally
grievous to the Lord, and if He’s forgiven us, how much more ought we to be
able to forgive one another?
As always…I’ll leave you
with a song, as you know music moves my heart like nothing else…till next time
my friends… <3 o:p="">
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