Anger is a natural emotion. My observation is that people usually get angry when they think that their rights have been violated – that some unreasonable offense has occurred. In the Bible, we have examples of anger. Jacob was the younger son and he deceived his father Isaac and received the blessing intended for the first born son Esau. Because of what Jacob had done, Esau was angry with his brother so much so that he wanted to kill his brother. Later, Jacob married the sisters Leah and Rachel. Leah bore Jacob sons but Rachel did not. Genesis 30:1-2 “Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or else I die!’ And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’” Jacob was angry with Rachel because she was blaming him that she had no children.
In a similar way, we can get angry with other people. We might get angry when someone harms or mistreats us or deceives us or falsely accuses us. We can also get angry when we see another person hurt and we get angry on their behalf. An example of this might be when we see a child injured by someone more powerful; we might get angry with the person who injured the child.
We might even be angry with God. Jonah was told by God to go to the great city of Nineveh and prophesy to them that they were going to be destroyed by God because of their wickedness. Jonah didn’t want to go so he got on a ship and went the other way. But he couldn’t run from God. God sent a violent storm and the mariners on the ship finally threw Jonah overboard where he was swallowed by a great fish. After being in the fish for three days and nights, Jonah repented and God caused the fish to vomit him onto dry land. So Jonah went to Nineveh and preached and the people believed and repented. Since they repented, God did not destroy the city but was merciful to them. Since God did not destroy the city, Jonah was angry with God; he wanted God to destroy the city. Have you ever been angry with God? We might be angry with God when He doesn’t use His great power as we think He should. But it is not right to be angry with God. He is God; He has the right to decide what He will do or won’t do or what He will allow or won’t allow. He is God and we have no right to question God.
The Bible cautions us about anger. Ephesians 4:26-27 “’Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Anger is a strong emotion. The big problem with anger is that it can motivate us to sin. I know that when I get angry I don’t think rationally. My emotion of anger might cause me to say or do things that are wrong. Our first reaction when we get angry might be to take vengeance. “You violated my rights – you hurt me; I’m angry and I’m going to get you back.” But the Bible clearly states that we should not take vengeance. Romans 12:19 “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (See also Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 32:35). The clause “but rather give place to wrath” may make us think that instead of anger, we can have wrath. I believe a better translation is “but leave it to the wrath of God”. God is the one who rightfully can have wrath and take vengeance. We must be careful not to take vengeance when we are angry. Leave vengeance to God.
Another sin that we can commit when angry is that we repay evil with evil. The apostle Paul stated in Romans 12:17a “Repay no one evil for evil.” When angry, we may use curses. We may be rash and say things that we later regret. It seems to me, that when we are angry, our judgment is clouded and we don’t think clearly. Our main thought seems to be – “my rights have been violated and I need to make things right!”
Some think that Jesus was angry when he cleansed the temple. Jesus saw people buying and selling sacrificial animals in the temple. Matthew 21:12-13 “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’ but you have made it a den of thieves.’” Perhaps Jesus was angry, but if He was, He did not sin. As the Son of God, He had the right to cleanse the temple of His Father. He did not say or do anything evil. Some people call this “righteous indignation”. It points out that we can be angry and not sin. The emotion of anger may be strong within us but we do not have to sin because we are angry.
The second part of Ephesians 4:26 states “do not let the sun go down on your wrath”. I understand this to imply that even though we get angry, we shouldn’t stay angry, but let the anger go out of us before the sun goes down. When we retain anger for long periods of time, it turns into bitterness. Both bitterness and retained anger must be flushed from our lives. If not, they will destroy us spiritually and physically. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” We must replace anger and bitterness with kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness. Remember that God has forgiven you.
The last phrase of the passage (Ephesians 4:27) is “nor give place to the devil”. The devil wants us to sin. As stated earlier, anger can cloud our judgment so that it seems more important to satisfy our anger with vengeance than to do what is right. In this way, we give place to the devil. I submit that when we are angry we need to recognize that we may be extra vulnerable to sin and by doing so, we would give place to the devil.
My encouragement to you is that when you become angry, be careful not to sin.