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If you’re not a frequent reader, you might be wondering how the wrath of God ties in with parenting from the book of Proverbs! We’ve been following a little bunny trail here, but I think it was a necessary one. There are a couple of lessons to learn about controlling our own anger from looking at the wrath of God.

1. The emotion of anger, in and of itself, is not sin; anger can lead us to sin, and must be controlled.

Ephesians 4:26-27 makes this distinction clear:

“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.

Anger can cause us to act in sin, so it needs to be controlled!

It is interesting to me how the New Living Translation worded these verses:

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

2. What we get angry about and what God gets angry about are often quite different!

If you think back to our post on God’s anger in the Old Testament, we noted time and time again that God’s anger was incited primarily by idolatry and rebellion. Remember, our sin violates His holy nature!

What do people get angry about? Well, thinking of Biblical accounts, you might think of:

• Cain killing Abel in jealousy because God accepted his brother’s sacrifice but not his own

• Joseph’s brothers attacking him and selling him into slavery after he tells them of his dreams that they would bow before him

• Balaam beating his donkey when she wouldn’t move

• Ahab throwing a fit because Naboth wouldn’t sell him his vineyard (so Jezebel offs Naboth for him)

• Jonah sulking because God spared the Ninevites after they repented, and then sent a worm to eat his favorite vine. (my college roommate and I enjoyed dramatically quoting Jonah, “I’m so angry I could die!” – Jonah 4:9)

Hmmm… doesn’t sound that much better than what we get angry about in our sophisticated modern hearts:
• Getting cut off in traffic
• Having to wait too long in a grocery check-out line
• Being overlooked for a job promotion
• God’s blessing on someone else when we feel cheated
• Jealousy and feeling that things “aren’t fair”

Oh, I’m sorry – did I just step on someone’s toe? Oh, nevermind… it was mine.

Our anger is vary rarely directed at something legitimate – usually our anger flares not because God’s holy name and nature is being violated, but when our over-inflated view of ourselves and what we deserve gets stomped on by those around us. We feel angry… and then we often will allow that anger to control us, give Satan a foothold in our lives, and sin against God and those around us.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 is a great memory verse for this topic – Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools. The Proverbs also have plenty to say about anger:

The wise are slow to anger:
• A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor. (12:16)
• He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. (14:29)
• He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. (16:32)
• A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression. (19:11)

The wise calm disputes, rather than stirring them up:
• A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (15:1)
• A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute. (15:18)
• Scorners set a city aflame, But wise men turn away anger. (29:8)
• An angry man stirs up strife, And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression. (29:22)

Feeling angry today? Time to take a good hard look at what you’re angry about, and then decide if you’ll let that anger rule over your heart and hands.

Tomorrow we’ll chat about helping our children keep their anger in check… no easy task. Please share your thoughts on strategies and techniques to try!!