Anger and What it Can Do to You

What does the Bible say about anger?

Well, to find the answer to that question let's look at Ephesians 4:26-27

“Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down

while you are still angry. For anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil.”

What does these Bible verses mean to you? Well, the Bible doesn't tell you that you shouldn't feel angry, but it does tell you that you shouldn't let anger get control over you. You see, when you let anger get control you don't think straight. You say things that hurt other people. Also when anger gets control of you the devil gets a foothold in your life. The longer you are angry the more control the devil has in your life. Also, your anger can cause you to become bitter and that can destroy you.

How can bitterness destroy you? You can lose your love for the Lord, for all you will think about is how mad you are. Did you know that when you stay angry at someone they become your enemy?

How does the Bible tell you to treat your enemy? Let's read Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus is the one who is talking.

“The Law of Moses says, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 
 But, I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
 In this way you will be acting as true children of God.”

You see, by loving and praying for your enemies you can overcome evil with good. When you love your enemies and treat them good, you are showing them that Jesus is the Lord of your life.

Let's also look at Luke 6:27-31. Jesus is the one who is talking here too.

“If you are willing to listen, I say to you:

1. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you
2. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you or hurt you
3. Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it, and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back
4. Do for others as you would like others to do for you.

You see, loving your enemies means, even if someone is your enemy you are still to act in their best interest. You are to pray for them and think of ways that you could help them. That shows your enemies that you are a child of God.

Take a look at Luke 6:36-37. Jesus is still talking.

“You are to be compassionate (merciful), just as your Father in heaven is

compassionate (merciful).

Stop judging others, and you will not be judge.

Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you.

If you will forgive others, you will be forgiven.”

Okay what does these verses mean? You are to be compassionate to other people, in other words you are to love one another even your enemies. When you judge other people or you criticize them sometimes they will turn into your enemy.

Let's go a little more into judging and criticizing people. Let's read James 4:11

“Don't speak evil against each other. If you criticize each other and condemn

each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God's Law.
And you are not a judge who can decide if God's Law is right or wrong. 
Your job is to obey God's Law.”

This is saying to obey God's Law, which is Love your neighbor and Love your enemies. When you fail to love them, you are actually breaking God's Law. When you are ready to criticize someone, remember God's Law, and say something nice instead.

Now, let's go to forgiveness. Let's read Matthew 18:21-22. Here Peter asked Jesus a question.

“Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord how often should I forgive someone who

sins against me? Seven times?” Jesus said, “No! Seventy times seven!”

The Jewish rabbis taught that you should forgive people only 3 times. Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive people seven times. But, Jesus answered with seventy times seven, meaning that you shouldn't even keep track of how many times you forgive someone. You should always forgive people, no matter how many times it is.

Jesus told a story about forgiveness after Matthew 18:21-22 it starts at Matthew 18:23 and goes through verse 35, let's read it.

“For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who
decided to bring his accounts up to date with the servants who had borrowed 
money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed
him millions of dollars. But the man couldn't pay the debt, so the king 
ordered that he, his wife, and his children, and everything he had be sold
to pay the debt. But the man fell down before the king and begged him, 
“Oh sir, be patient with me and I will pay it all.” Then the king was filled
with pity for him, and the king released the man and forgave his debt.

But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few

thousand dollars, and he grabbed the servant by the throat and demanded instant

payment. The fellow servant fell down before the man and begged for a little

more time, “Be patient and I will pay it,” the servant pleaded. But the man

wouldn't wait. He had the fellow servant arrested and jailed until the debt could

be paid in full.

When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him what had happened. Then the king called in the man he had

forgiven and said, “you evil servant! I forgave you that huge debt because you

had pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I

had mercy on you?” Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid

every penny.

That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your

brothers and sisters in your heart.

You see, in Bible time, it was very serious when a person couldn't pay their debts. A person lending money to someone could seize the borrower who couldn't pay and force him or his family to work until the debt was paid, this could be in prison or as a slave. This could be for the rest of his or their lives.

God has forgiven all your sins, so you should forgive other people. Don't hold a grudge against anyone. You should realize how completely Jesus Christ has forgiven you and that should make you have a attitude of forgiveness toward other people. When you don't forgive other people, you are putting yourself outside of Jesus Christ's law of love. For Jesus His self said that the two greatest commandments was “Love God” and “Love one another”, when you fulfill these two commandments you fulfill all of them.

Now let's read Colossians 3:13

“You must make allowance for each others faults and forgive the person

who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

The key to forgiving other is remembering how much God has forgiven you. Sometimes it may be difficult for you to forgive someone who has wronged you, but remembering how much God loves you and how much he has forgiven you, helps you to love and forgive others.

Last but not least let's read Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus is talking here

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

But if you refuse to forgive others, your Heavenly Father will not forgive your

sins.”

Jesus gives you quite a warning in the above verses about forgiveness, if you refuse to forgive other people, then God will also refuse to forgive you. Why does God say that? Well, it because when you don't forgive other people you are denying that you ever needed forgiveness yourself. But as a sinner you need God's forgiveness. This is to teach you what forgiveness really means. Sometimes it's hard to forgive others especially when they have wronged you. But God forgives you when you disobey Him. And you are suppose to forgive others.

Here something to think about. God loved you so much that He gave His only Son. Jesus was nailed to a cross for our sins. What did Jesus ask His Father to do when He was nailed to a cross? Jesus said “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Now, think about this, “Has anyone hurt you so much here on earth that it has cause you to lose your life? If Jesus forgave us how can we not repay Him by forgiving those who hurt us here on earth. Think about it!