Anger management 101

Two weeks ago, we were studying Nehemiah's response to the evil that piled up like a load of dirty laundry whilst he was back in Persia . . . 

At the time, we noted that there's a big difference between righteous anger and sinful anger. I really dug into this and thought it would be a good discussion topic for this week.

Ready?
Let's dive in!

Sometimes it's the little things . . . .

I've told you before that I'm a big fan of C. S. Lewis -- in The Screwtape Letters, a demon by the name of Screwtape is advising his nephew (a demon-in-training, I guess we could say) on how to be more successful in the task of tempting and influencing humans entrusted to his "care."

In one missive that is particularly enlightening, Screwtape advises Wormwood that in order to keep his human safely on the path to hell, it's best to focus on tempting him to do "little" sins instead of the "big" ones like murder. The things which seem innocent. Insignificant.

He tells Wormwood, "....the safest road to Hell is the gradual one...."

One of our focus passages for this study on anger is in the fourth chapter of Ephesians; it's snuggled into some other verses that Paul calmly lays out as a primer on good behavior and a good testimony. 

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

None of the rest in the list seem to be what we would call "big" sins. They all seem to be the small and less important garden variety. But that is where we can be deceived, just as Screwtape says. Take for instance, lying -- Satan is the father of lies, and he and his minions have deceived people for years, so that they think "little lies don't matter." Else why would these phrases be so well-used in our language? Little white lies. Half-truths. Bending the truth. Twisting the facts. But the reality is that all of these lead us to larger and larger lies and away from our Father God, the source of truth!

So as we look at the rest of the list, no "biggies" jump out at us, right? Don't kill anybody. Don't commit adultery. They are not there! But all of these other sins were important in Paul's mind and he stressed them.

Let's dig a little deeper . . . .

Paul starts verse 26 by saying, "Be angry." What? Is Paul telling us to sin?

Nope.

We are back at our original premise: there are two kinds of anger. The first is righteous anger directed toward sin and evil in our world today. It's the kind of anger that God has. Many times in the Bible, we see verses that speak of the wrath of God.

So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them. (Numbers 25:3)

Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. (Deuteronomy 6:14-15)

So put on sackcloth,
    lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the Lord
    has not turned away from us. (Jeremiah 4:8)

Two weeks ago, we also mentioned the anger of Jesus when He cleared out the temple. He was filled with fury at what the religious leaders were doing in God's temple. He was also angry at the Pharisees and other who sought to accuse Him:

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” (Mark 3:5a)

So, being angry at the damage and destruction caused by sin is natural and normal for believers. The danger comes, as we briefly discussed two weeks ago, when we humans try to have righteous anger. We are sinful and selfish, and we also don't see everything and know everything the way our Father does! So for us, even though we may start out with righteous anger, it is extremely easy to slide into sinful anger. It's that sinful anger that Paul is warning us away from. 

I think one of the most graphic examples of this in the Bible is an incident in the life of Moses. It shows us in stark contrast the two faces of anger.

Moses was one of the most righteous and humble men ever -- but he allowed righteous anger to degenerate into sin. We all know the story . . . he led the Israelites out of Egypt, across the dry bed of the Red Sea, and onward to the foot of Mount Sinai. Then they went right up to the border of the Promised Land. They could have entered then, but the people doubted that the Lord God could provide for and protect them, so instead, they wandered about in the desolate wilderness for forty years! 

If you were Moses (you'd have been eighty years old at the time) wouldn't you have been frustrated at these stubborn, rebellious people? These people are ungrateful! I'm eighty years old and I want a rest! I don't want to march about in the desert for forty years! 

Sigh.

But our buddy Moses took it in stride. Over the next forty years, there would be times that the Israelites would again show a lack of faith, or stray from God's teachings, and there he'd be, interceding for them. 

But then, right before they entered the Promised Land, Moses hit his limit. In the twentieth chapter of Numbers, we can see the Israelites complaining (again) about the lack of water. So, God told Moses to speak to a rock nearby for water to come out of it. 

Moses was by now righteously angry with the Israelites, and he let his anger get the best of him. He spoke harshly to the Israelites (they did deserve it), but then in anger he struck the rock with his staff instead of speaking to it as God had told him.

The water did flow. And the people did stop their murmuring (for a while).

But the consequence of letting his anger get the best of him? For allowing his righteous anger to become sinful anger? Moses wasn't allowed to enter into the Promised Land when the glad day finally arrived.

Anger, when it gets away from us, exacts a terrible price.