Anger Management

1. Introduction
Angry Birds

y y y y y y

The best selling iPhone, IPod touch, and Ipad game. Downloaded about 50 million times Very addictive Object of the game is simple, destroy all the pigs Birds are launched from catapult Cause of anger, pigs stole the birds eggs and that enraged them y Out to destroy the pigs and in the process destroyed themselves Columbine Massacre y 20 April 1999 suburban town of Littleton, Colorado near Denver y 2 boys Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris conducted an all-out assault y Intention is to kill as many students as they can y Armed with guns, knives, and bombs y At days end they killed 12 students, 1 teacher, 23 injured and killed themselves y The profound question is why? What drove them to commit this massacre y The two boys left records, journals and videos that were meant to be discovered y They were angry young men with filled with consuming hatred o World o Racists o Martial art artists o Star Wars fans o People who mispronounce certain words o People who drive slow in fast lanes

y They enacted their anger into a murderous rage y Had not for the failure of propane bombs planted in the cafeteria, the casualty could have been in the hundreds y These boys also suffer from persecution complex. y They feel that they are bullied on the school Anger brings destruction and the consequences are disastrous 2. Restraint and Patience (v 19)
Concern

o James positive approach. Exhorts the persecuted Jewish believers to exercise restraint o He called them beloved brethren, a term of endearment o In Matthew 12:50 even Christ referred to His followers as brothers. o James is simply following Christs example, that is, identifying himself with the other believers as their brother o He reinforced the bond between them that is he can empathise with their suffering o In times of distress people tend to be short fused. They are easily agitated with hair-trigger tempers o These people are living on the edge with persecutions coming from Rome and the Jewish high priests they tend to be over sensitive and insecure o They are also undergoing transition from Judaism to Christianity. o They really need guidance and that is exactly what James is giving.
Character

o James calls for the development of character in spite of adversity o Strength in character is the essential foundation of controlling your anger

o It is an admonition to exercise better judgment, to weigh matters before committing a reckless action with serious consequences o In other words James says be smart, exercise wisdom o It is important to be wise if you are living under adverse conditions o It is important to be wise in order to present a good testimony o It is important to be wise if you are a child of God, Matthew 10:16 is Christs admonition to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents o The first part of this admonition is be quick to listen o Listening involves the absorption of relevant information and gaining a full understanding o In other words we must get the whole picture and not readily pass judgement o A quick listener is a sign of being teachable. It is the willingness to hear and learn more about the Gods wisdom o The second half of character development if slow to speak o Being opinionated has its merits but it doesnt work every time o Slow to speak goes hand in hand with quick to listen because an immediate verbal reaction to a situation without thoroughly studying could be disastrous. o Slow to speak prevents slander because and malice o It is the same as restraining your tongue. o Psalm 34:13 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. o I Peter 3:10 For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech o An unrestrained tongue could hurt feelings, cause discomfort and at worst destroy a persons reputation. o Quick to listen and slow to speak think through and do not put your foot in mouth
3

Control

y The last part of the verse is an admonishment to be slow to become angry. The KJV uses slow to wrath. For the purpose of this message let us differentiate anger from wrath. Wrath is mentioned in verse 20 y The original text in Greek is orge o Vine settled or abiding condition of the mind with a view to taking revenge o It is a lingering, seething motion o It is internalised and has not been acted upon y Let us look at OT passages about anger o Psalm 37:8 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret it only causes harm. o Proverbs 18:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. y It is clear that the Bible abhors anger, but is anger really sinful? y Isnt it that God became angry? o Numbers 11:1 1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. o Did God sin? o Gods anger is always just a reaction to evil as discussed in Romans 1:18 2:11 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them y Christ also expressed anger:
4

o Towards the money changers in the temple John 2:13 - 17 o Towards the hypocrisy of the Pharisees Matthew 23:13 36 o Did Christ sin? o As with Gods anger it is a reaction to evil y Compare it to mans anger o From the definition of the Greek word, orge we can see that it is a result of sin, unlike Gods which is directed against sin o Reason why Jewish Christians are admonished to be slow to anger because it will lead to greater sin
Application

o Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger o These three graces or admonishment will generally keep you out of trouble o You must be wise in your ways by thinking things through and not making rush actions and not being angry o Anger usually results in sin. Only anger directed against sin and unrighteousness is justified o When you feel anger building up, let God take control of the situation o When you feel indignation surrender to Him o When you feel offended, pray leave it all to God and He will take care of you 3. Rage and Provocation o Verse 19 escalates anger to wrath o Greek word is thumos, means sudden outburst of anger o Where anger or orge is a seething pent-up emotion, wrath is an explosive outburst which leads to destruction o At this escalated level, let us compare the wrath of God with the wrath of man and determine why mans wrath is not righteous with God

Wrath of God

y Is an indignation to evil as pointed out earlier y Never misguided, because He is divine and all-knowing y Capable of reading the hearts and minds of men o John 2:24-25 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. y He is therefore capable of directing anger and wrath, in complete control y There is no self-interest only directed at unrighteousness
24

Wrath of Man

y Man is imperfect y Often misguided (ignorance, misunderstanding) hence the call to be wise by quick to listen and slow to talk o Proverbs 14:17 17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated y There were instances when we get angry about something then regretting it later on. We did not know the whole picture and never bothered to find out y It is easily kindled into rage, where it becomes explosive and destructive as we have seen with those two boys at Columbine High School y Mans wrath has a recourse that is remember Divine vengeance. When provoked, we must divert our anger and rely on God to bring His justice. Remember that Gods anger is against unrighteousness and if that is brought to His child then He will bring justice. Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay,[d]says the Lord.

Righteousness of God

y What is the righteousness of God? y It is one of the most prominent yet elusive attributes of God y Greek: dikaiosune character or quality of being right or just y Hard to distinguish from holiness or goodness y Righteousness of God is synonymous with His Justice y Righteousness is demonstrated in Genesis 18:16 33. o God wants to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah o Abraham pled for the righteous inhabits o Gods righteousness is shown by his acceptance to spare the lives of the righteous by ordering Lot and his family to flee Sodom o It would not be just to destroy them with the rest of the city y Righteousness in man is conformity to a standard. God revealed this standard trough the Mosaic Law and man failed for he will never ever meet the standard y God is not subject to the same standard nor to anything outside of Himself y Where does wrath of man fit in? The very nature of mans wrath, being sinful makes it unacceptable in the sight of God. y Exception is righteous indignation y Wrath of man usually brings destruction and that is very much against Gods righteousness y There is no justice in mans wrath because it is an emotional, vengeful and violent reaction
Application

y Uncontrolled wrath is destructive. The explosive nature brings swath of destruction as weve seen on the real-life massacres reported y Wrath has no place in the life of a mature believer. We have to control our temper and let inner workings of the Holy Spirit take over
7

y My life situation I was able to demonstrate this o Restraint o Calmness o Prayers from friends and family 4. Conclusion y Anger brings destruction o Go down the way of the extreme examples o It does have to be that violent o Anger and wrath may not manifest physically but could show up as harsh words resulting in hurt feelings, strained or broken relationships y We must be examples of level-headedness o Epitome of coolness o Examples of restraint because the Holy Spirit working in our lives because of the presence of Jesus in our hearts o It is our best testimony to be level-headed o Nothing is more destructive than having an image of quiet person yet with a seething anger that erupts into violence y Be cool, be level-headed then you will be right with God