ANGER
By Devin LaBay

A wise man once said, "No man is in worse company than when he flies into a rage and is beside himself." How true that is. We live in a world today that glorifies anger and violence. We see the evidence of it on television, the movies and in music. We like to pretend that we are immune to such influences, but Satan knows better. He uses these instruments to infiltrate our homes and families through violence and disrespect between parents and children, resulting in unbroken relationships.

What does God have to say concerning our anger? After all, Jesus got angry didn't he, when he overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple? Anger is a God-given emotion, just like happiness or sadness and is normal for us to feel. Anger is not the problem, but rather, what we do with our anger. Notice what the Psalmist says in Psalm 37:8: "Refrain from Anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil." What does it mean to refrain from anger anyway? It means to stay away from it, in other words "Don't go there!" God is trying to tell us that although he has given us this emotion, he does not want us to run to it every time things don't go our way. "Turn from wrath....." Isn't anger and wrath the same thing? Not in this verse. Anger is an emotion and wrath is an action fueled by anger. In some cases wrath is justified, such as the case with Jesus' overturning of the money-changers' tables in the temple. However, most of the time, our wrath is not justified. Think of all the times you've gotten mad and threw a fit, or punched a wall, or yelled at your parents, or parents, when you've done the same. Many times we feel these things have happened before we can do anything about it. True, once you've said or done something, it's done, but not because we couldn't help it. Remember 1 Corinthians 10:13 ? "God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear", this includes our anger. Notice what the Psalmist says next, "Do not fret..." What he's saying, to quote a 90's phrase, is "GET OVER IT!!!" Let it go, don't go dwell on it, grow up.

People today get angry because things don't go their way. Hello ? Welcome to reality! Jesus prays to his Father three times in Mark 14:32-41 "Remove this cup from me...", but the Father's answer was no. Notice Jesus did not fret over it, but rather said, "Yet not what I will, but what you will." Our parents tell us to clean our rooms, do our chores, come home at curfew, etc. And many times we complain, argue and throw fits. Jesus' Father told him to die! Yet, Jesus was obedient to his father, obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). If anyone ever had a right to complain, it was Jesus. Think about it.