When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  In the temple courts he found people selling cattle sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.  So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  To those who sold doves, he said,  “Get those out of here!  Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”  John 2:12  NIV

People love to say, “Well, even Jesus got angry.  He turned over tables and made whips out of cords”.  This is true, but we must remember why He did this.  He did this because He was very upset with the fact that the temple had been turned into a market.  This was something that was being done against his Father’s house.  Many times you see Jesus in situations where he could have been very angry.  He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  He was constantly being tested by the Pharisees.  During these times, he responded calmly.  Even as he was being led to his crucifixion, he did not lose his temper.

So what I am getting at here, is why do you get angry?  I don’t know about you, but I get angry when someone comes against me or someone I love.  Is this wrong?  Is this a sin?  No, but how we handle it could be.  The Bible tells us in Matthew 18:15 that if your brother sins against you that you are to go to him in private and talk to him.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother back.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you should run them down on social media or talk behind their back.  The Bible tells us that we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30).  It’s hard to do this when we are busy hating others and plotting evil against them.  This is exactly what the devil counts on.  It’s a distraction technique.  The devil wants us to get distracted by being angry at someone else so that he can take our focus off of God.  The Bible also tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves(Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31).

So, remember, it is not a sin to get angry.  Anger is an emotion just like sadness or joy.  It’s how we handle it that can cause us to sin.  The first thing that we need to do is to recognize the source of our anger.  If we are mad at a person, remember that the devil works through people, especially those closest to us, to distract us.  If you are trying to do what the Bible tells you to do, then the devil is trying to mess you up.  And he will use anyone he can to do it.  The devil desperately wants to distract us from focusing on God.

So, what is the first thing we should do when we find ourselves getting angry?  We should pray.  Turn to God.   We need to resist the devil and stand firm in our faith  (1 Peter 5:9).  The Bible also tells us in James 4:7 to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

So, before you go turning tables over and claiming that you are imitating Jesus, I encourage you to ask yourself a few questions?  First of all why are you angry?  Has someone come against God?  This is what happened in today’s scripture passage.  If someone turning against God angers you, then you may want to find yourself at a political meeting because most of our politicians do this on a regular basis.  I thank God for the handful of politicians that support Biblical living.  Chances are, you are angry because someone has turned against you.  If this is the case, I implore you to consider a few things.  First and foremost, consider the source.  The devil uses people to anger us.  Secondly consider why the devil would do such a thing.  Well, put simply, the devil does these things to distract and destroy.  He wants to distract us and get our focus off of God.  Then if he can destroy our witness, he has really scored.  The devil is a crafty little so and so and he knows when to strike at our most vulnerable point.  So remember to pray and read God’s word daily.  Stay close to God and submit yourself to Him.  When the devil comes against you, pray.  Prayer should be our first line of defense.  Stay in God’s word.  There is a reason that it is referred to as the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6.  It is the only defensive weapon listed in God’s battle plan which is outlined in Ephesians 6:10-18.

Psalm 37:8 tells us to refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!  Fret not yourself, it tends only to evil.  Ephesians 4:26  tells us to be angry and not sin and not to let the sun  go down on our anger.  And Ecclesiastes 7:9 tells us that we should not be quick to become angry for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

So today, I ask you to consider when you become angry if your anger is righteous or self-righteous.  If someone comes against God and you have righteous anger, remember that He’s much bigger than you and He can handle it.  Same goes for when someone sins against you (Romans 12:19).

If we don’t put anger in check, and do so quickly, it can lead to evil.  When this happens, we are letting the devil have his way with us and we definitely don’t want to do that.

Have a great day!