Looking a Fool

“For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”  James 1:20

The Bible records that Jesus was angry.  But only a few times, and each instance was marked by righteous anger.  Once he was angry because the people were turning the temple into a marketplace.  Another example was when the man with the withered hand was in the synagogue and the people were trying to trip Jesus up and prevent him from healing on the Sabbath.  There were a few other instances when he showed indignation (when the disciples tried to prevent the children from coming to him.)  Other than that, you do not see Jesus going around throwing fits.  His one most notable recorded incident of being angry was based in righteousness and indignation toward people who were exploiting the things of God.

But man’s anger, well… it does not bring about a righteous life.  Why?  Because often our anger is based in selfishness, pride, hypocrisy and fear.  Whereas Jesus’ anger only had to do with the things of God, rejecting of truth or trying to prevent God’s will from coming to pass, ours is often not so noble.  His anger was always rooted in righteous judgment.  When he declares something wrong, it is wrong.  When we declare something wrong, often it is just our opinion or our perspective.

That is why a Christian must endeavor to avoid anger as much as possible.  In fact, the Bible urges us to stay away from people who are hot-tempered.  Proverbs 29:11 states:  “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”  When we are angry, it almost seems we must give vent to our feelings.  But exploding in anger often results in increasing anger and bad feelings.  Especially if through our venting our anger turns to sin and condemnation.

A Christian is wise, to hold back on venting their anger to the full extent.  There is wisdom in self-control. A truth the Lord has impressed on me many times is this:  if I have bad feelings in my heart toward someone, I must only apologize to God.  If I tell somebody off, I will have to apologize both to God and the one that I have behaved in an ungodly manner toward.  When it comes to apologies, less is more.  The less crow you have to eat, the less your tummy is sour!

Dear Lord, help me to be a person of control and restraint. Help me to walk in wisdom in relationships and to always demonstrate love, even in the midst of anger.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Sherri