Titus 2 Men And Women

Anger is Draino

Most of the time an article on anger would focus upon its negative aspects.

--"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James 1:20).

--"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: " (Ephesians 4:26).

--"Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.” (Proverbs 22:24-25).

However, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26, quoting Psalms 4:4, "Be angry, and sin not." At first glance, the encouragement to be angry on the one hand, and the caution to give no place to anger on the other seems a gross contradiction. But there is more to anger than meets the eye.

In the Bible both the Hebrew and the Greek words for anger mean nostrils, suggesting the violent, quick breathing—or even snorting—of an enraged person. "Rage," "temper," "wrath," "indignation" and "fury" all cluster around this concept of rhythmically snorting nostrils. A dirt-pawing bull, glaring and snorting at a maddening matador, comes to mind.

We can even consider anger as a godly characteristic or behavior. The Bible speaks often of God's anger or wrath flaring out at sin. Consider God's fury as compared to a whirlwind in Jeremiah 30:23-24…. Jesus Christ executes the justice of God the Father with wrath and indignation, as we read in Revelation 19:14-15:

Why would God deny to us, His children, something that constitutes part of His character? Have we not been created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26)? The truth is that God did create us to express anger…. anger has a legitimate function when the target is legitimate….

The scriptures contain many examples of men of God exercising, without reproach, righteous anger. Exodus 32:19-20 gives an example of Moses' righteous indignation.
Yet God later censured Moses for striking the rock in anger at Kadesh (Numbers 20:1-13). Christ rebuked Peter for cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant, Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10-11). Simeon and Levi were cursed for the anger they showed against the defenseless Shechemites (Genesis 49:5-7; see 34:25-31). It is vitally important to understand when anger is justified and good and when it is not.

Anger's Target

The godly purpose of anger is to consume and destroy its target utterly. Nothing was to be left. When Saul was told to destroy the Amalekites, the command was to exterminate every man, woman, child and beast (I Samuel 15:1-3). Did God command this because He hated the Amalekites? No, He wanted this to be done because He hates sin. At this point, extermination was really an act of love and mercy.

In every case in which godly wrath is exhibited, the target is sin, not people…. 

We should consider anger as a kind of spiritual Drano. Its target is gunk, crud, or debris in the pipes. The crud in the pipes could easily represent sin, which prevents water from flowing through them. The water represents God's Holy Spirit, which cannot flow through a person if he has crud in the pipes. When used properly, spiritual Drano can become a valuable aid in overcoming.

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
[iniquities: crud in the pipes]
[separated between you and your God: His Holy Spirit cannot flow through to you]


The last part of verse 2 parallels Habakkuk 1:13….God cannot tolerate sin. He refuses to coexist with it. He intends that we blaze with white hot anger at the sin in our life, that we take our fury out on the thoughts and behaviors that are taking our lives. So says Paul in II Corinthians 10:4-6….

Too many times we reserve our anger for after the sin has been perpetrated…. The time to get angry is before we commit the sin—before we follow the path of destruction—before we separate ourselves from God. Then we need to pour the Drano right on the sin, onto the behavior causing guilt. And we should pour on the Drano full-strength!

When a minister corrects a member of the congregation, of necessity a certain amount of indignation is involved, but the indignation is not directed at the person but at the sin. He must correct the person for his ultimate good, though it seems hard to take initially. Proverbs 3:12 shows that correction of this kind is done out of love: God loves every son whom He corrects (see Hebrews 12:5-11).

Handle With Care

Anger is, admittedly, a caustic substance. We read cautions all over the Drano can:

--Never use lye with any other chemical.
--Never use lye in dishwashers.
--Never use lye with aluminum utensils.
--Harmful or fatal if swallowed.
--Causes severe burns.
--Keep out of reach of children.

God is slow to anger (Psalm 145:8); He uses it cautiously. Nahum 1:3 suggests that, though God does not quickly blow His top, He will use anger when necessary. We also need to treat anger as a controlled substance with a specific purpose. Proverbs 16:32 advises us also to be slow to anger, saying it is better than being mighty like a warrior.

Psychologists have taken a long time to discover that anger does not dissipate until it has totally and utterly consumed its target (see Proverbs 17:14). Some advise their patients to "let it all out," but Proverbs 29:11 says, "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back." Venting anger only brings in more "oxygen" to make the fire burn hotter and more destructively. Again, the only use for anger is to destroy everything in its path, a scorched-earth policy. This emphasizes how important a correct target for anger is.

However, anger that cannot reach and annihilate its target is turned inward, and as it was designed, it begins wreaking havoc. Physicians claim that anger turned inward can aggravate or cause digestive troubles, eye disorders, dental problems, skin diseases, hives and ulcers. It also interferes with logical thinking processes. A person who cannot find a target for his anger becomes like a rattlesnake that, if restrained, will strike its fangs into itself, effectively committing suicide. Those with unresolved angers need to focus on the sins that keep the anger boiling….

Try using a little spiritual Drano® to unclog the crud that has collected in the pipes. Then God can pour out His Spirit in greater measure, and it will flow through us to His glory!   by David Maas


ANGER Source: The University of Cincinnati

Body responses to anger

If we are aware, our body can inform us of when we are angry. There are stages of physiological signs of anger. 
· A stimulus triggers emotion 
· Tension or Stress begins to build 
· Adrenaline is released contributing to growing tension. 
· Breathing rate increases 
· Heartbeat accelerates 
· Blood pressure rises 
· There is now a body and mind "Fight or Flight" response 

Effect on our health

If managed inappropriately anger is likely to negatively affect our physical and mental health. Listed below are examples of disorders that may develop if anger is suppressed without an outlet: 
Headaches 
Cardiovascular disorders
Heart attacks
Emotional disturbances
Gastrointestinal disorders 
Respiratory disorders 
Skin disorders 
Genito-urinary disorders 
Arthritis 
Disabilities of the nervous system 
Circulatory disorders 
Aggravation of existing physical symptoms 
Emotional disturbances 
Suicide

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