Anger is one of those things that I have struggled with. At one point in my life, I was a violent person. There used to be a time when I was proud of my stories; now, I feel ashamed. For a long time, I knew that anger is not automatically destructive; it is what we do with anger. The Bible tells us, “Be ye angry, and sin not…” Ephesians 4:26 (KJV) I also know very well what out-of-control anger looks like. I am convinced that God protected me from some serious prison time.
Today I was taking one of my Counseling Certification classes with Dr. Kirk. The central topic for today was anger. As Dr. Kirk was reading Bible verses that speak directly about this topic, he started with Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (KJV) As Dr. Kirk continued reading other Scriptures, I could not stop reading Provers 16:32. Then it hit me, I saw something I never saw before. There is something more profound with uncontrolled anger: I saw that anger flows out of our spirit.
This revelation was alarming to me. Our born-again spirits are the only part of us willing to follow God without argument; Jesus said so in Matthew 26:40-43. Also, Jesus establishes that worship flows out of our spirit; he said so in John 4. So, the first real reason uncontrolled anger is so bad for the believer is that it takes away our willingness to follow God. We don’t care about anything, including God, for how long that uncontrolled anger is activated. The second real reason uncontrolled anger is so bad for the believer is that it takes away the maximum expression of our love for God: our worship.
Uncontrolled anger destroys property, families, careers, and much more… it contaminates our willing spirits, making them unwilling and incapable of executing our number one responsibility on this earth and forever more… the worship that is due to our Heavenly Father.
If you struggle with anger, seek help. We love you! God bless!
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