(See also Unforgiveness and bitterness)

Proverbs 14:29 A wise man controls his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes.
Proverbs 15.1 A soft answer turns away anger, but harsh words cause quarrels.
Proverbs 15; 18 A quick tempered man starts fights; a cool tempered man tries to stop them. `
James 1;19,20 Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little and not become angry; for anger doesn’t make us good, as God demands that we must be.,

Anger defined: Extreme or passionate displeasure.

• Anger seems to come in so many guises these days. There is the open anger that just explodes for something quite trivial and the anger that takes ages to boil up before it too explodes.
• There is anger against those who offend us, against the system we may be working under, against those who we feel should make decisions for us and don’t or if they do, we think they have made the wrong ones.
• Anger against parents, children, work mates, neighbours.
• Anger at a loved one who has died and left us all alone.
• Anger at the church which we feel may have let us down or offended us in some way.
• Anger is an emotion and if not dealt with is destructive.
• Anger can cause our blood pressure to rise! And anger, allowed to run its course, can lead to bitterness, resentments, hatred, grief and to being just plain miserable.

A person can live with anger but it is like a pressure point. Someone just has to touch it and it is felt!

Who does anger really affect? Ourselves! We are the ones who suffer because of it, no one else. So why carry it? Anger is like poison. It seeps into our physical and emotional parts, contaminating the way we look at people and life.


You may say to me “But it says in the bible that Jesus got angry.” Yes he did. It is recorded in Mark 3;5 that Jesus was angry because of the hardness of people’s hearts.
There was the time too, when He was more than a little upset about the moneychangers doing trade in His church (synagogue) and using a whip to remove the money-makers from its doors.

But you see, Jesus was angry at injustice, ill treatment by bullies, and for those who were teachers of the times (let today’s ‘teachers’ be ware!) but did not practise what they taught. In His anger, He did not take it out on others around Him. He still healed the sick, taught those who would listen, raised the dead and gave encouragement to those who were depressed and demonised.

He was zealous for the Kingdom of God and for truth and righteousness – that is what He was angry about.

What cuts the power of anger in our lives? Forgiveness. Forgiveness of others and ourselves.

In Matthew 6:14,15 we read FOR IF YOU FORGIVE MEN THEIR TRASPASSES, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU. BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE MEN THEIR TRESPASSES, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.

Our forgiveness from God rests in our hands – if we want to be forgiven for all those things we have done wrong, for all those words said which have wounded others, we need to forgive those who have wounded us.

Hard aye? Especially if anger has been sitting on the shoulder for some time and especially if you have a genuine cause to be angry.

It’s hard to forgive. It’s like trying to push water uphill some days. We don’t have to feel like forgiving because most of the time we don’t feel like it! Otherwise we would have done it! We just have to steel ourselves to DO it as an exercise, feel like it or not. The benefits are marvellous – peace and release.
But it is worth it when anger rolls off the shoulders and you know that you can stand before God forgiven because you have forgiven. Peter asked Jesus how many times does a person need to forgive another. Jesus replied “Seventy times seven!” I should think when one has forgiven that amount of times, it would have become a habit. And that is what we have to strive to do, forgive others until we know that we know, that we know, our forgiveness is genuine.


On the other hand, if we try and rationalise why we shouldn’t forgive as in the excuse of: “You don’t know what he did to me” we are the ones who carry the monkey of anger and unforgiveness around on our backs. We are the ones who end up with something far more deadly – bitterness – and bitterness can kill us while the person we resent or hate gets away free. Half the time, he doesn’t know we are losing sleepless nights or consuming ourselves with anger and it inhibits us praying that part of the Lord’s Prayer that says, “Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors’. That prayer won’t work for us because we fail the test. We don’t forgive so how can we expect to be forgiven?

Prayer
Father, I have this problem of anger. You know what caused it and you know how many times it is rehearsed in my mind. I want to do what your bible says and that is to forgive those persons/that circumstance/that situation. Please help me Father to overcome in Jesus name. I bless those who hurt me, who offended me, who cursed me, I bless everyone involved in this situation and I choose to forgive them. I forgive myself for things I have done wrong and I ask you to forgive me as well. Thank you Father that you hear my prayer, lead me please, day by day to overcome, when I have thoughts of anger rising again, may you be quick to help me to bless instead of curse. Thank you Father, Amen.