Don’t be an Angry Fool
Eccl. 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
Tonight’s topic is one that I struggle with every day – anger. I have struggled against anger for a long time, though up until now I haven’t really given it much thought. I always wrote it off as an “ugly” emotion – one that everybody has and something that as Christians we just need to deal with. Anger, however, is much more than that. As we’ll see in the scriptures, how we handle anger determines whether or not we are being fools.
So how should a Christian handle anger? Let’s find out…
To start with, we need to look at what anger is, and it is more than just a mere emotion. As described by Robert D. Jones in his book Uprooting Anger, anger is “our whole-personed active response of negative moral judgment against perceived evil”.1 A lot more than a simple emotion – anger involves our whole being. It is our reaction to a perceived wrong – either against us personally or someone close to us.
And it is very much physical. When I start to react in an angry way, I can feel my whole body tense, I get hot, rational thought starts to go out the window, etc. There are many phrases about anger that paint a picture of the physical reaction: our blood boils; we get hot under the collar; we are hot-tempered. The real danger is if anger is not brought under control, then our reaction can quickly get out of hand. Sometimes we hurl ugly, nasty words; sometimes we go silent and kill with our eyes; or smash walls with our fists; or try to harm each other.
But let me be clear – what I am talking about here is unrighteous anger. There are many examples throughout the Bible that describe God’s righteous anger – when his people (us) disobeyed His commands and deliberately went against His will. If I am honest with myself, I have to admit that my anger is not righteous – not sure I can think of a single example when it was.
Anger is a heart issue – it is something that comes from within, it is my response against something I perceive to be “evil”. Whether or not I have actually been wronged is a whole other question. The first thing I have to do with anger is understand that it is mine alone. No one, nothing “causes” me to be angry; it is a choice, a reaction.
Let’s look at our passage again, starting with the first half –
Eccl. 7:9 a) Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit
As Christ’s followers, we are not told to be without emotion. Just like every other human, Christians experience feelings of love and hate, joy and sorrow, compassion and indifference – and that’s okay. What we are told, though, is to keep our emotions under control (do not be quickly provoked). On the topic of anger, the writer of Proverbs puts it this way.
Pr. 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Giving full vent to my anger is a bit like a truck losing its brakes as it comes down the mountain – I lose all control and the anger takes over. If we allow anger, or any other emotion, to take hold of us or to own us, we are opening up the gates for sin. We are walking into bondage – giving up control of our hearts and minds (and therefore our actions) to our emotions. Our anger can also draw other people into the fray, expanding the damage the sin does beyond ourselves to those we love, and to those who just happen to be near us. Our anger (in the right circumstances) can whip others into a frenzy, turning a group of otherwise rational people into an angry, irrational, uncontrollable mob. A mob bent on death and destruction, and not likely to be stopped by words. Worst case scenario? Maybe – but plenty of examples throughout history where angry rhetoric has started people down the path of unimaginable horrors (Spanish Inquisition; Salem Witch Trials; the Holocaust; race riots). Again, the writer of Proverbs warns us of the hazards that anger presents -
Pr. 29:22 An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.
When I look at those times where I have been hot-tempered, I can indeed see the sins I have committed. But as I looked closer, one sin that popped out was one I had not ever really considered before – idolatry. That seems like an unusual sin when talking about anger, but it becomes clear when I think about the times I have allowed anger to take hold:
- That jerk in the sports car who just cut me off
- When my boss criticizes my work or overlooks me for the promotion I so obviously deserve
- When my kids disobey or talk back to me, when they show disdain for my rules
- When my wife doesn’t follow my plan for the day
Where my anger is concerned, it’s all about me!!! Just like Ken talked about last week with money, we sin when we shift our focus off of God and onto ourselves. I am not angry because somebody is blaspheming the name of God (which would be righteous anger) – nothing in any of these scenarios involves God, or Jesus, or His Kingdom, or His will. Instead, I am busy putting myself, my desires above His. I am positioning myself as king and ruler of my own universe. And this is idolatry, plain and simple.
Continuing on with the second half of our passage -
Eccl. 7: 9 b) for anger resides in the lap of fools.
The Hebrew word translated here as “resides” is nuwach. It can also be translated “to sit oneself down” – and for me, this feels like settling in, getting comfortable, digging in, camping out. It has a sense of long-term, if not permanence about it. If we allow anger to settle in to our hearts, we are fools. We are fools because anger leads to so many other sins – in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus puts it this way (Matthew 5):
21”You have heard it said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment’. 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother ‘Raca’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Jesus considered unrighteous anger to be sinful – equivalent to murder. And He warned His followers to be aware of the anger in their hearts so that it could be brought under control and not lead them into sin. In his letter to the Ephesians (Ch. 4), Paul puts it this way:
26”In your anger, do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
Remember, our anger is our own. No one, including the devil, makes us angry. But the devil certainly will take advantage of the opportunity, of the sin that can follow anger. And so Paul tells us to make sure that we are in control – that we recognize the anger and ensure that it does not outlast the day. Make sure that it does not reside within us.
Controlling anger, however, is very difficult – at least for me. I think that most of us want justice and fairness in our lives. If someone cheats us out of something (like money), we want that thing restored to us. When a crime is committed, we want to see the guilty party pay the penalty. If I have declared someone guilty, I want the full penalty of law on that person – my anger burns within me.
So as Christians, how should we react? What should we do when our anger stirs? Talking again to the Ephesians, Paul (Ch. 4) said this –
31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.
It starts with comparing myself to the person who I am judging, and then remembering that I am also a sinner. I have sinned and I continue to sin every day that I am alive. And the wages for sin are death. I am guilty. But God!!!
Even though I am guilty, even though I deserve eternal damnation, eternal separation from God. In spite of all this I am saved! God provided for each of us a redeemer in Jesus Christ – a perfect sacrifice in our place so that the power of death and sin would be broken. By grace through faith in Jesus I am saved.
And if I am to follow Christ’s example, I need to examine my anger and then extend mercy, compassion and forgiveness to the person with whom I am angry. Rather than burn with rage and demand that justice be done, I should remember that my life has been spared – my debt has been paid in full – and forgive the wrong (real or perceived) that has been committed.
For me, however, this is easier said than done. On my own, I don’t have the power or strength to bring my anger under control. I need help to keep me from succumbing to anger and sin. So I should turn to the two weapons I do have – the first of which is prayer. Speaking to the Philippians, Paul said this (Ch. 4):
6Do not be anxious in anything, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
By turning to prayer, I turn my focus away from me and to God (which is where my attention belongs anyway). I can ask God to reveal to me the root of my anger, the sin that is owning me and controlling me. I can ask for God to take the anger away from me and to replace my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. I can ask God for the Holy Spirit to give me the power and the strength I need to fight and defeat sin in my life.
The other weapon I can turn to is my church family – here at CITG, this is one of our main focus points. Part of our mission is to show everyone the importance of being engaged in a loving, accountable church family. Very often when I am angry, when I have lost control of my anger, I lose perspective. One way I can sort out my anger is to turn to someone I trust and talk through the situation with them (keeping out names so as to limit the temptation to gossip). Being engaged in a church family gives me the opportunity to speak with a fellow believer about my anger – and it gives that person the opportunity to provide me with the perspective and the truth that I cannot see for myself. To point out that my anger is unrighteous (therefore sinful) and give me the perspective I need so that I can extend forgiveness and expel the anger from my heart. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way (Ch. 10)
23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, bet let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This serves as a great reminder that we are not alone – we are all part of the church universal. By encouraging each other in love (and being able to accept that love in return) we can gain power from the Holy Spirit acting through our fellow believers.
Last point – if you are a believer, then you are an ambassador of Christ in this world. You and I are called to be the salt and the light – in Matthew 5:48, Jesus challenged his followers to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. In the Old Testament, I found six (there are probably more) separate passages describing God as it relates to anger – here is how He is described in Psalm 86
15But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Even though God is righteous in His anger and just in punishing those who do not conform to His perfect will, God is slow to anger. Unlike me – quick to judgment, quick to anger, slow to forgive. So if I am to imitate God, if I am to follow in his path, then I too should be slow to anger (do not be quickly provoked).
And for me, the key in following God’s example lies at the end of verse 15 – abounding in love. Christians are called to love God and love one another. We are called to spread the message of reconciliation to others, and to demonstrate this in our own lives. Jesus calls us to be reconciled to one another – to forgive those who trespass against us. I am doing this when I set aside my judgment and my anger, and turn to my fellow man with love.
As we leave here tonight, let us remember how not to be an angry fool. Don’t let anger reside in our hearts. Set aside judgment and false righteousness, turning our eyes and our hearts to God and what He would have us do. May we follow the example of our Lord – be slow to anger and abounding in love.
Let us pray…
