Ephesians 4:26 – 27 “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Did you know that it is okay to feel angry? Many people feel that, as Christians, we should just smile and feel peaceful and happy all the time. But there is no biblical basis for that assumption. Jesus felt angry, and even turned the tables over in the temple (Mark 11:15 – 17)!
God created us in His image. He gets angry, and He expects us to feel angry sometimes, too. But He wants us to handle our anger in the right way. Anger, handled correctly, is a good thing. But when we misuse our anger, it can cause great damage to ourselves and to our relationships.
Sometimes, we decide to bottle up our anger. We hold it in, and it becomes a seething, smoldering breeding ground for depression, bitterness and hatred. Eventually, all of those nasty, putrid feelings will bubble over, and we will end up spewing them all over everyone around us. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Holding in our anger is rarely productive. We should deal with it as quickly as possible.
Other times, we choose to immediately attack the object of our anger. Verbally, and sometimes even physically, we let the other person have it. Then, we feel better. But the other person may never forgive us! When we don’t handle our anger correctly, we can cause permanent damage to our relationships. The ripple effect is often far-reaching, as the other person’s friends and their friends’ friends are now angry at us, and before we know it, our explosive temper has caused us to be very unpopular.
But we must always remember what Paul said in verse 15: speak the truth in love. When someone or something makes us angry, we need to talk about it, calmly and rationally, and in as loving a way as possible. We can talk to the person who has made us angry. We can also talk to our Heavenly Father. When we do this, we will feel better. And often, our anger, handled correctly, will bring about positive results in our relationships and our circumstances.
Dear Father, Please help me to always handle my anger in a positive, productive way.
Amen
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
Tina Russell
Thanks so much, Tina! Great to “see” you here!
–r
It is seething for sure. As in holding in your anger, and not knowing how to express it.
Lovely blog. Found you through Matt’s WP blog. You have a book, and i am in the process of creating one, so i thought i would stop on by and check you out.
Missy.
Controlling Her Seething Anger! LOL.
Missy, it is so hard to know how to express our anger in the correct way! I don’t know that anyone ever masters this, but we can at least work toward improvement . . . 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again.
–r
Well, I’ve done both – the bottling up and the attacking! I wouldn’t recommend either. But I can personally guarantee that sincere, heartfelt prayer can rid you of any anger and provide you with the gift of knowing exactly what to say, whatever your situation.
And that can be a miracle in itself!
Good post Renae.
I have an award for you on my blog please come and take it.
Prayer really does change things, doesn’t it Jackie? I’ve found that to be true countless times.
Amrita, Thank you so much for the beautiful award! I will wear my garland proudly, and tell everyone about you! 😉
If anyone would like to see my lovely garland award, all the way from India, you can visit Amrita’s blog at http://yesugarden.blogspot.com/ .
Great to see you both!
–r
Hey Renae! I got your blog from Matt’s entry in regards to the book deal topic and I saw this post.
I had also just written an article that talks on anger for a Happiness Friday blog entry today. 🙂
http://winningeveryone.com/happiness/happiness-friday-opening-your-fists-letting-anger-go/
At the same time, congrats on your own book deal too for Morning Coffee!
Thanks, Daniel! Great to see you here. I enjoyed your post very much.
Hope to see you back again!
–r
Thanks Renae! 🙂
Another excellent post and it makes me so happy to see you getting the comments you deserve on your thoughts.
I feel another sermon comin’!
This is a huge area in which I’ve learned wisdom the hard way over the years.
This is the number one misunderstanding, in my book, in the Christian world: the validity of all emotions and how to handle them.
The damage wreaked when feelings are buried and not dealt with is untold: my life is a textbook example.
Thank you for shedding some light on this.
Jlo
Thanks, Judi. You’re right – the mishandling of our emotions can cause great damage – be it anger, sadness, romantic feelings, etc. That’s just one of the many reasons we should strive to stay tuned in to the Holy Spirit. If we let Him, He will help us to handle every situation.
Love you, girl!
-r
xx