Don’t Let Anger Lead You Into Sin

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Ephesians 4:26

According to The Bible Dictionary, human anger is “the emotion of instant displeasure on account of something evil that presents itself to our view.” “It (anger) is not necessarily sinful; but may, however, become sinful when causeless, or excessive, or protracted (Matt. 5:22; Eph. 4:26; Col. 3:8).”

There is no way around it; we must learn to handle our anger. Someone once said, “Anger is one letter short of danger!” We all get angry, but we must not be angry for no good reason, allow our anger to flare out of proportion to an offense, or remain angry.

In Genesis 4:1-14, we find the first mention of anger. Adam’s son, Cain, was jealous of his brother, Abel. Cain allowed his jealousy to ferment into such anger that he murdered his brother. Cain let his anger prevail over him, which resulted in the first homicide.

Anger is mentioned again in Numbers 20:7-12. In this passage, Moses acted out his frustration with the children of Israel by striking a rock instead of speaking to it as God had instructed him. As punishment for Moses’ disobedience, God did not allow him to enter into the Promised Land. Moses had obeyed God for forty years along the way, but sadly, his anger got the best of him. He was not able to completely fulfill his desire to be at the head of the procession into the Promised Land.

This story about Moses demonstrates that anger, left unchecked, is an obstacle to fulfilling our destinies. I have seen people miss opportunities to progress in God’s plan for them because they couldn’t control their anger. Just a flash of anger can cause much damage to not only your destiny, but also to your relationships and to your reputation.

Ephesians 4:26 tells us that we can make a choice to be angry and NOT sin. If we act on our anger, then we sin. God shows us how to stave off anger in James 1:19-21. These principles work!

• Focus on listening instead of speaking. Put yourself in the other person’s place.
• When you speak, speak slowly and deliberately. Have you ever noticed that when you are angry you begin to speak faster and louder. Speaking slowly and intentionally, while lowering your volume, will calm your emotions.
• Get rid of moral filth. Don’t allow your conscience to become calloused to the voice of the Holy Spirit by playing in ‘moral mud.’ Get rid of it and stay connected to the ever present help of God.
• Humbly accept the Word of God. Anger is rooted in selfishness (my way, my needs, my rights). When we focus on the other person and their well-being, we are humbling ourselves to God’s way of taking care of offenses committed against us. Psalm 135:14 says that the Lord is our vindicator. That means He proves us to be in the right.

Will you make the choice to not let anger lead you into sin? That’s the choice driven life!

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Proverbs 8-10; Romans 12; Ps 144

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