Anger Management

Do you get angry?
Is it okay to get angry?
Many think it's not very Christian to get angry and if you want to be a Christian you should never get angry.  They think... I can never be a Christian if I feel anger.  The truth is anger itself is neither right nor wrong.  It's "amoral" (meaning it doesn't have a sense of morals).  It's actually what you do with the anger and how you handle it that matters.

Ephesians 4:26 says
"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger."

So even the bible says its okay to be angry...but do not sin.

So where does anger come from?
What is it's purpose?

It may not be the answer you are thinking.

Since the purpose of anger is to fight evil and right wrongs, anger is actually a God given emotion.  We are meant to use our anger in God given ways.  Since rage, hostility and bitterness is of Satan. we are to stay clear of that path.  We have to speak the truth in love and own our feelings.  Never hostilely tell someone they made you angry.  No one can make you angry without your permission.  So how do you handle the situation?  Let them know you understand that  your feelings are your responsibility but you feel angry and would like to talk about it.

A lot of times when there is anger from the past that you haven't addressed it can get triggered easily and you can over react.  Just remember what they do to you is their issue but how you react is your Christian responsibility.

So is it worth getting angry about?

Think about a few things the next time you feel anger coming on...
- Is it worth getting angry for?
- Will I regret for what I'm about to say or do later?
- How will this effect my relationship?

A lot of the things that get us angry are really just things that waste time, annoy us or threaten our egos.  These things will never stop.  God wants us to practice patience to learn how to handle them.

Psalms 37:7 tells us
"Be sill before the Lord and wait patiently for him: do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.


Righteous Anger
Even Jesus got angry.  When Jesus got angry at the moneychangers in the temple it was because they were exploiting religion instead of using it to bring people closer to God. Jesus taught the truth but they refused to listen.
We can also get angry at injustice, such as killing the unborn, drugs dealings, molesting children, polluting our environment and so on.  Rather than stewing about the problems, we can band together with others and take action to fight, by peaceful, lawful means. We can volunteer and donate to organizations that oppose abuse. We can write our elected officials. We can form a neighborhood watch. We can educate others, and we can pray.

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told his followers to be as "shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."  We are to protect ourselves without stooping to the level of our attackers.  An angry outburst accomplishes little, besides satisfying our emotions.

Jesus told us to expect persecution. The nature of today's world is that someone is always trying to take advantage of us. If we are shrewd yet innocent, we will not be as shocked when it happens and will be better prepared to deal with it calmly.  *consider your audience*Getting angry is a natural human emotion that does not have to lead into sin—if we remember that God is a God of justice and we use our anger in a way that honors him.

Sources: About.com, Christianstories.com