I meet for prayer and fellowship with a small group of my brothers from CLC once a week for an early breakfast. We share laughs, encouragement, our blessings and our struggles as we break biscuits together, sometimes for three hours or more. Two of my friends have shared their struggles with anger. They describe how anger constantly lurked inside of them ready to burst to the surface with the least provocation. All it took sometimes was an inconsiderate driver or a thoughtless word from someone (not to mention actual injustices) to set them off.
I have never had a problem with anger, but I understand their struggle because I have had my own battle lately (that’s a story for another time). Each of us in our group has our own personality, experiences and DNA, but we share faith in Jesus Christ, and the promptings of the same Holy Spirit. That family relationship allows us to support each other with encouragement and prayers.
Anger is a natural response to injustice or wrongdoing, but it should be focused and temporary. When anger becomes our default reaction it also becomes dangerous. Mark Twain once wrote, “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” Elizabeth Kenny pointed out another danger of anger when she wrote, “He who angers you, controls you.” Provoking our anger is a ploy used by the enemy to distract us from what God has called us to do. It puts him in control of our thoughts and emotions for a while and that never ends well.
Scripture warns us about anger. Jesus said, “But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Matthew 5:22) Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26, “And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” James wrote, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)
Love has become my default response to virtually every situation. I find it is the solution to nearly every problem. One of my friends decided to replace his anger with love. Every day he would read aloud from the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, “Love is patient, love is kind”, etc. That seemed to help but it was becoming a ritual rather than reminder and then God spoke to him through the Holy Spirit, “Yes, love is all of those things, but are you?” He then began saying “I am patient, I am kind”, etc. and that helped him even more. Then one day when he was saying that, the Holy Spirit spoke to him once again, “You really like that, don’t you? Who made it possible for you to be all of those things?” From then on he always concludes with “I am all of these things, Lord, because you were all of those things to me.” That has released him from anger. It has been gratifying to see the change in him and watch him share his experience with our brother still dealing with anger. God does not give us victory just for our own benefit, but for us to allow His love to flow through us to help and bless others.