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Anger As A Christian!!!

In the world we live in today, few things are more destructive to us Christians than anger. Anger can cause us to lose our self-control and also to say and do things that we would otherwise never consider doing. Anger, if allowed to remain in us, will turn into bitterness that will eat away at our hearts. The Scriptures consistently command all believers to put away anger and lists anger as one of the sins of the flesh. See Ephesians 4:31 for reference.

"Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath." Ephesians 4:26.

At times, I am sure that we try to defend our anger by citing the aforementioned passage. As additional proof we argue that Jesus cleansed the temple in "righteous indignation". We have all heard the arguments and debates. But I believe that Ephesians refers to anger that does not lead to sin. Jesus was very capable of being angry without sinning. And, when Jesus cleared the temple, Scripture does not indicate that He was angry. We mostly assume that He was.

As believers, we must be very careful not to justify our anger with the Scriptures. Ephesians 4:31 commands us to put away all anger! That does not mean that we cease to have strong convictions or lose our desire for justice. It means that we refuse to allow the sins of others to cause us to sin. Anger does not bring about God's redemptive work; I think far more often it hinders what God is working to accomplish.

Friends, if we feel that we have righteous anger because of something that has happened, we should examine ourselves and see if we are holding anger in our heart without sin. Is our anger turning into bitterness? Is our anger causing us to speak in an unchristian manner to someone, or causing us to gossip about them? Is our anger causing us to make excuses for our own ungodly behavior? Is our anger preventing us from acting in a loving, redemptive, and Christlike way toward someone? If we have answered yes to any of these questions, then I doubt the anger we are holding onto is righteous anger. We must examine any anger within us and allow God to remove any sinful attitudes that our anger may have produced. If we don't, then the anger will eventually turn into bitterness and lead us down a path that we do not want to go.

May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!!

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