Anger

“And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.” (Jonah 4:9)

The language in Jonah is confusing. What God is asking Jonah is “Are you very angry?” And Jonah’s response is “Yes I am very angry, until I die.” Why was Jonah angry? A worm came and withered the gourd God had provided Jonah with shade. But God had provided both the gourd and the worm.

Most times when we are angry, it’s because we didn’t get our way. It’s the flesh. The first incident recorded in the Bible on anger is Cain’s anger. “But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:5) We find out that Cain was determined to worship God in His own way instead of doing it God’s way. And when God didn’t accept his offering Cain got so angry, he killed his brother.

Cain thought he’d offer a better sacrifice than what God required. In other words, he probably thought that he would go the extra mile and God would be pleased. But it was his own desire to outdo his brother instead of pleasing God. How many of us think along these same lines? God requires our hearts and instead we offer Him works or only words. Then we get angry when we don’t receive a blessing as if our words or works were to meant to produce blessings. We have reduced God’s Word to a formula. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15)

There are some who consider themselves atheists because of that very reason. One famous one was C.S.Lewis. When he prayed for his mother to be healed and she died, he became an atheist. But he was such a contemplative person that he eventually came to understand God’s Word along philosophical lines. The more determined a person is against God, the more we realize it’s a personal grudge against God. There are other famous atheists with a personal grudge against God, but I will not name them here. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) God’s blessings do not depend on our goodness. We cannot manipulate God into blessing us.

James gives us some simple steps to take when we are confronted with an angry outburst. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:19-22) Many times in arguments between two people, we can determine they are saying the same thing but approaching the thing from different perspectives. And the argument is futile. They’d would have realized it, had they taken God’s way of doing things; listen intently, don’t speak too quickly, and control your anger. I will add that if at that moment, we would ask the Holy Spirit to give us a word to say, that God’s wisdom would dispel all arguments. But instead, James tells us what happens when we give vent to our anger. “Filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness” fly out. Paul also called it “foolish talking.” (Ephesians 5:4) Instead James calls us to meekness and obedience to the Word of God. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are arguing righteously. But we are sinning instead as James puts it: “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)

King Solomon in the wisdom that God gave him wrote: “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” (Proverbs 29:11) The American Standard Bible reads, “A fool uttereth all his anger; But a wise man keepeth it back and stilleth it.” We can’t argue with a fool. They spout their filthiness and will not listen to reason, so why try. It’s best to stay quiet and the argument will cease.

I don’t think that what we’ve studied in this lesson will help us if we’re prone to anger, but it helps us understand the why and how to traipse the way in a situation during an angry outburst.