Ps 4:4 Do not sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.
Sound familiar, sleep on it and take care of it tomorrow. When something makes me angry, I try to wait before making a decision about how to deal with it. God will allow trouble in our life to see how we handle it. Anger usually occurs when we are inconvenienced or perhaps unwilling to see another’s point of view and is directed at the wrong people in the wrong way and at the wrong time. However moral outrage at evil or injustice can occur. Yes, you will get angry, feel hurtful emotion and possibly lash out, but sin occurs when we are angry to the point of causing negative outcomes. Hatred, jealously, and evil actions are all sins.
We, as Christians, can cling to God with confidence, knowing that his help and consolation are waiting for us in both good times and bad. Seek his help to find the root of the anger. When calm, pray and ask God for insight. If angry at a person, set a time to discuss what you felt at the time. You will be surprised what positives can come from a heartfelt discussion. Understanding and knowledge of the person’s situation can be very enlightening.
Ever gone out to eat and the server seems just a bit “off”, distracted, unable to concentrate. The service is slow and maybe incorrect. Your first inclination is to be angry with the server and give a lousy tip. This actually happened to us on a Sunday afternoon after church. We were fresh from hearing God’s word and I was getting angry. I felt robbed of my pleasant family afternoon. Once I realized whom the “robber” was, God reminded me not to judge. You never know what that person is going through.
When the server came to check if we needed anything, I said “no but you seem upset, is there anything I can do for you?” A look of shock came across her face then an amazing thing happened. She opened up and apologized for not being 100%. I explained that I knew the person who could help and spoke about the love of God. With the tip, we gave a card from our church. The server did come to church for a while. The point is that I did not sin with my anger and was obedient to God’s word. When anger tries to rear its ugly head, stop and think before reacting.
Jena Kleinpeter 