Staying in Control of Anger

Staying in Control of Anger




In his letter to the Colossians, Paul admonished them to rid themselves of five things. The first was anger, and the second was rage (Colossians 3:8 NLT). Obviously, it had been revealed to Paul that anger and rage were enemies of the Church and would open the door to destruction.




Sadly, most people who live their lives having fits of rage do not see themselves the way others see them. Because many times they control themselves in public, they have the false assumption that their anger and rage is under control. But their family and close friends see them differently. They know the truth and live their lives walking on eggshells, constantly tense because the fit of rage can be ignited by the smallest spark.



Over the years, I have counseled several people who seemed to be grounded in the Word of God and were involved in community and church activities. While everything seemed well and orderly on the outside, their home life was completely different.



In one instance, a woman was knocked unconscious, and her husband's response was, AIt was an accident. All I did was push her.@ But upon being examined at the local hospital, it was discovered that she had several healed fractures that could only have occurred through years of physical abuse. I will never forget her telling me of all the broken items in their home. I asked her why she had never mentioned this to her friends, nor even hinted at her husband's fits of anger and rage until it could no longer be hidden. Her response was startling. She said, AHe's a good man. He loves the Lord and I would never want to do anything that would hurt his ministry.@



As the years passed, I heard through a mutual friend that this couple had divorced and nobody could figure out why. But deep inside, I felt I knew. His wife had taken all she could take. As the man broke her physical body, as well as material things in their house, he was also breaking his wife's spirit, and eventually broke his marriage.



Paul told the Ephesians to "Be angry and do not sin@ (Ephesians 4:26). How is that possible? In the same way that Jesus was angered by the unholy acts of the merchants in the temple, we too should be angered at the works of the enemy.



I saw an old movie depicting Jesus and the temple merchants. In the movie, Jesus saw them merchandising and in a fit of rage, He ran at them, grabbed a whip, and beat them relentlessly, chasing them out of the temple. That may be good theatrics, but it's not scriptural.



The Bible tells us that after Jesus saw their merchandising, He took the time to braid a whip and then, in full knowledge of what He was doing and in full control, He turned over their tables and told them to get out of the temple (Matthew 21:12). Jesus was never out of control and neither should we be out of control. Red-faced anger, accompanied by stomping, throwing, and hitting, is definitely not in line with the character of our Father.



James, the brother of Jesus, who was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, wrote to his congregation and told them that their anger would not bring about the righteous life that God desired for them to live (James 1:19-20). Of course, there is much more that could be said about this, but the conclusion is quite evident. A Christian should not be given to fits of rage, but should walk in the fruit of the Spirit, which includes patience and self-control. If they have an issue with anger, they should use the gift of grace to overcome it. Anything else is not of God and is sin.



Anger is a by-product of fear. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). God has empowered us with His grace to soar above the works of the flesh and as we develop our walk of love, fits of anger and rage will fade away.







Grace is freedom from the law that empowers us to keep the law. In this book on grace, you will come away with a deeper understanding of this wonderful gift that God has given to the Church. His free gift of grace is sufficient and more than enough to meet any situation you face. The Power of Grace by Dr. Larry Ollison is available from Amazon.com.






Other books by Dr. Larry Ollison are available online