The topic for today’s conversation is focused on anger, an emotion which can have massive repercussions. Anger itself is not sin, as God himself feels wrath. Anger which is not sinful is the kind of anger born out of love. Sinful anger, however, comes from idolatry and false loves. Along those lines, anger and bitterness are two signs of being focused on oneself and not trusting God’s sovereignty in life.
Ephesians 4:26-17 says, “Be angry and do not sin.” Righteous anger serves and protects and gets angry at sins and injustices. Unrighteous anger is inward and self-serving to our desires. Anger only reveals what is already boiling inside of you. It is not enough to just subdue anger, we have to kill our idols and recognize we don’t deserve authority and power. If we walk in the spirit, we won;t fulfill the lust of the flesh. Proverbs 22:24 says, “Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man, do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.” Humans unconsciously imitate the things we observe, thus we as Christians have to be careful about the people we surround ourselves with and the media we consume. We are created to be reflectors, and when we aren’t reflecting God we are reflecting other things. Scripture promotes the idea of self control rather than anger.
Shifting the discussion to the things which are righteous to be angry over, the guys discuss righteous indignation towards evilness and sin. If we are really being selfless and not self seeking, we will realize that when someone sins it is against God and is hurting themselves and hurting others. Thus our anger is for the sake of God’s glory, the person’s well being and the well being of others. The guys offer advice for someone who considers themselves an angry person. Steeping ourselves in the love of God and Jesus, and knowing that love is unprovoked allows us to walk in the spirit. We must also view our actions from an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one, and always be assessing our hearts and realize the motivation behind our feelings.