Anger - The Good and the Bad Part 1

LBS

Anger -The Good and the Bad

Part 1

“Many Christians operate under the misconception that anger is always “bad.” Anger per se is neither good nor bad. It is how people use their anger that makes it positive or negative. Ideally, anger was given to humans by God as a tool to help build relationships. In its pure form anger is an emotional signal that tells a person something needs to be changed. It was intended to be a positive motivator to be used in giving one another feedback about how life can be lived more productively.”  

If all anger were wrong, we wouldn’t find the many references to God’s anger in the Old Testament. There are approximately 365 references to God’s anger and 80 references to man’s. Since God is holy, we must understand His anger as His righteous response to human sin and rebellion. Yet over and over we also read that God is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7)

In the New Testament, there are several words used most frequently to express anger.

• Thumos appears 20 times and means a turbulent commotion, boiling agitation of feeling, sudden explosion. It’s like our word rage. 

• Ogre appears 45 times and describes a long-lasting attitude that often continues to seek revenge, like our word resentment.

      * Aganaktesis, mentioned 5 times, is a form of anger without the implication of  

        inappropriate behavior. 

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches us one of the things that anger God. Jesus acted out His anger when He drove the moneychangers out of the temple courts. He did this because they had made God’s house a marketplace; they had cheated people and prevented them form worshiping God (Matt. 21:12).

He became angry with the Pharisees because of their heartlessness. They wanted Him to keep the rules they had made for the Sabbath, and thy had no compassion for the man with the shriveled hand whom Jesus healed ( Mark 3:5).

Jesus was very indignant when the disciples tried to prevent people form bringing children to Him (Mark 10:14).

He consistently felt “righteous anger toward oppression, injustice, and unmet human needs. And he didn’t  hesitate to express his angry feelings. Since Jesus was without sin, He vividly demonstrated for us that all anger is not sin. 

Rage expresses anger in explosive words and/or actions. Resentment stuffs the anger inside. Both forms of anger can destroy our relationships, affect our personalities, damage our effectiveness, and color our sense of worth. Indignation, however, can be the motivation for constructive action.

Can you think of anyone’s indignation over issues that have made a positive change in our world?____________________________________________________________

( slavery, abortion, rating of video games etc. )more and more people are expressing indignation at the filth on tv.

Indignation stirs us to action. It starts our engines. God has given us this emotion as a tool to protest evil, to mobilize us to action, to correct injustice, and to give us a passion for service. when we are angry about the things that anger God, we are on a same track. 

Moses exhibited righteous indignation when he came down from Mount Sinai after forty days of talking with God and receiving His holy law. At the foot of the mountain, he found the Israelites in a wild orgy, dancing around a golden calf. He smashed to two tablets of stone to the ground, shattering them as powerfully as their laws had been shattered by the people’s rebellion. God did not rebuke him for that.

But forty years later, Moses’ rash, inpatient anger exploded in rage, and he disobeyed God, struck a rock twice with his staff instead of speaking to it as God had commanded. For this display of anger, Moses was rebuked by God and forbidden to enter the Promise Land. 

What makes you angry?

We can learn a great deal about ourselves by considering the kinds of things that make us angry. Ask yourself the following questions, and try to be honest in your responses. 

*Does you husband make you angry because he doesn’t pick up his dirty clothes when the hamper is just six steps away?

*Are you resentful toward your mother-in-law because she interferes or keeps competing for first place with your husband?

*Do you feel indignation when a fellow employee is treated unfairly?

*Do the men at work anger you with their comments, jokes, and put-downs about women?

*Do you get irritated with your husband because he is not as attentive as you would like?

*Do you respond with anger when your children are difficult to handle or disobedient?

*Does it upset you when your husband or friend doesn't really listen to what you are trying to tell him/them?

*Do you get angry when you seem to lose control over others?

*Are you enraged when your bride is bruised?

*Is your anger the result of ongoing grudges and bitterness?

*What is your emotional response to irritations? ___________________________________________________________________

*Do you blow up at the least provocation then forget the incident and leave the debris of injury in your wake?

*Do you suppress your anger and nurse a growing pile of offenses that keep you seething inside, while on the outside you pretend that you’re okay?

*Is your anger an impetus for producing change? No

Considering your answers to these questions can help you reflect upon the sources of your anger.