Christ Leads The Way

“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.” – Psalm 37:8

Hey good people! I hope that you are well. Thank you for continuing to read and share in this journey where Christ leads the way. I appreciate your show of support, and I appreciate you!!

Are you holding on to anger about something? Or, are you generally just an angry person? I hope not, but we all get angry sometimes. Even Jesus became irate when He went into the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers (Matt. 21:12).

It takes quite a bit to make me upset, but I know that there are some things about which I need to release some anger. I don’t want to harbor any degree of rage towards anybody or about anything. As the psalmist quipped, anger and wrath only causes harm (Psalm 37:8). So I want to delve into what the Bible says about being angry.

Paul quotes the psalms when he writes, “‘Be angry, and do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph. 4:26). You’ve heard it said: don’t ever go to bed angry. You never know if you may not wake up or if the person that you are upset with may not wake up again. We have to learn to let go of harsh feelings. It’s hard, I know. But God has commanded us to put all bitterness, wrath, and anger away from us (Eph. 4:31).

There’s nothing wrong with being angry. It’s a healthy and normal emotion. We just have to be careful not to sin, offend, or hurt anyone when we are upset. Jesus warned, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matt. 5:22). That’s why James cautions us: “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).

And when we notice that someone else is irate, we can calm them down with a soft answer instead of yelling or engaging in their anger (Prov. 15:1). “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).

The Lord doesn’t want us to remain angry because it’s not helpful to us. His desire is that we might be saved. And that only comes through belief, confession, repentance, and baptism.

Are you holding on to anger? Let it go. Remaining angry is not going to change whatever happened. No matter how hard it is, we don’t have to stay angry. Let’s just let it go.

“Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.” – Psalm 4:4

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com