A fool gives vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back. Proverbs 29:11 ESV
How do you handle anger? Anger is a human emotion; we all deal with it from time to time. The difference is how we deal with it?
The Bible has a lot to say about anger and a great deal of advice on how to handle it. Giving vent to our anger means to express it in a forceful way. Do you give vent, or do you quietly hold it back?
Several scriptural passages say we should be slow to anger. James 1:19 says, “Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” We should always be mindful of this verse when we deal with others. Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the hearts of fools.”
The Bible says whoever is slow to anger has great understanding and the one with a hasty temper exhibits foolishness in Proverbs 14:29. Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
God is slow to anger, and we are to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). If God were not slow to anger, but was given to great wrath hastily, we would all be in serious trouble. I am so grateful to God that he is willing to forgive me when I fail him.
We are told in Ephesians 4:26-27 that we must be careful not to let anger cause us to sin. Ephesians 4:31 says we should let all bitterness, wrath, and anger and clamor and slander be removed from us along with all malice or evil thoughts or intentions.
Psalm 37:8 says “Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself, it only tends to evil.” Our anger is often selfishly motivated, we are angry at someone because they said or did something to us.
The Bible acknowledges that we have anger. Jesus had anger when he went into the temple and ran the moneychangers out (Luke 19:45-46). This was righteous anger. Righteous anger is what motivates us when someone sins against God. Jesus was upset because these people had turned the temple into a marketplace and were price gouging those who had come into town for the Passover.
We all experience anger, but we must be careful about how we handle it. We must pay careful attention to how the Bible tells us to handle it. I would like to tell you that the first thing I do when I get angry is to pray, but I don’t want to lie. I know the first thing I should do when I get angry is pray, but sometimes I do vent a bit before I get there.
It’s good to have someone you can talk to. We should have a fellow Christian we can go to and vent and hopefully they will guide us in the proper way to deal with our anger. We should give whatever is causing our anger over to God and let Him handle it.
Romans 12:19 tells us that we should never avenge ourselves but leave vengeance to the Lord. That’s His job and those are toes you don’t want to step on.
We usually become angry because someone has spoken or perpetrated evil against us. We are told in Romans 12:21 that we must not be conquered by evil, but we must conquer evil with good.
We are not inclined to do good when we are angry.
Feelings and emotions can open a door for the devil. They can cause us to exhibit foolish behavior. We need to learn how to deal with our anger by following God’s instructions and using God-given wisdom.
Have a great day!