SIN

Part 6 -- ANGER

UNCONTROLLED ANGER

WHEN DOES ANGER BECOME SIN?

UNCONTROLLED ANGER WILL LEAD TO SIN.
Why are you so angry? Elohim asked him. Why do you look so dejected? -- Genesis 4:6. The Bible does not say why YHVH rejected Cain’s offering. Perhaps Cain’s attitude was improper or perhaps his offering was not up to Elohim’s standards. YHVH evaluates both our motives and the quality of what we offer Him. When we give to YHVH and others, we should have a joyful heart because of what we are able to give. How do you react when someone suggests you have done something wrong? Do you move to correct the mistake or deny that you need to correct it? After Cain’s offering was rejected, Elohim gave him the chance to right his wrong and try again. YHVH even encouraged him to do this! But Cain refused and the rest of his life is a startling example of what happens to those who refuse to admit their mistakes. The next time someone suggests you are wrong, take an honest look at yourself and choose Elohim’s way instead of Cain’s.

ANGER IS OFTEN THE RESULT OF BAD DECISIONS.
Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing and he said to himself, My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob. -- Genesis 27:41. Esau was so angry at Jacob that he failed to see his own wrong in giving away his birth right in the first place. Jealous anger keeps us from seeing the benefits we have and makes us dwell on what we don’t have. When Esau lost the valuable family blessing, his future suddenly changed. Reacting in anger, he decided to kill Jacob. When you lose something of great value or if others conspire against you and succeed, anger is the first and most natural reaction. But you can control your feelings by
1 recognizing your reaction for what it is;
2 praying for strength; and
3 asking Elohim for help to see the opportunities that even your bad situation may provide.

ANGER’S CHOICE TOOL IS THE TONGUE.
The tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself. -- James 3:6. James compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire-the tongue’s wickedness has its source in hell itself. The uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We dare not be careless with our words, thinking we can apologize later, for even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire-you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.

CONTROLLED ANGER

HOW CAN WE BE ANGRY WITHOUT SINNING?

ANGER CAN BE A HOLY RESPONSE TO SIN.
He looked around at them angrily, because He was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, Reach out your hand. The man reached out his hand and it became normal again! -- Mark 3:5 Yeshua was angry about the Pharisees’ uncaring attitudes. Anger itself is not wrong. It depends on what makes us angry and what we do with our anger. Too often we express our anger in selfish and harmful ways. By contrast, Yeshua expressed His anger by correcting a problem -- healing the man’s hand. Use your anger to find constructive solutions rather than tear people down.

ANGER DOES NOT HAVE TO LEAD TO SIN.
He taught them, The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be called a place of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves. -- Mark 11:17. Yeshua became angry, but He did not sin. There is a place for righteous indignation. Believers are right to be upset about sin and injustice and should take a stand against them. Unfortunately, believers are often passive about these important issues and instead get angry over personal insults and petty irritations. Make sure your anger is directed toward the right issues.

ANGER IS A DANGER SIGNAL.
But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. -- Matthew 5:22. When Yeshua said, -- But I say, -- He was not doing away with the Law or adding to it His own beliefs. Rather, He was giving a fuller understanding of why Elohim made that Law in the first place. For example, when Moshe said, -- Do not murder -- Exodus 20:13, Yeshua taught, -- Don’t even become angry enough to murder, for then you have already committed murder in your heart. The Pharisees read this Law and, not having murdered, felt righteous. Yet they were angry enough with Yeshua that they would soon plot His murder, though they would not do the dirty work themselves. We miss the intent of Elohim’s Word when we read His rules for living without trying to understand why He made them. When do you keep YHVH’s rules but close your eyes to His intent? Killing is a terrible sin, but anger is a great sin too because it also violates YHVH’s Command to love. Anger in this case refers to a seething, brooding bitterness against someone. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress and spiritual damage. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to YHVH. Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out and say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Moshiach wants us to practice thought-control as well. Yeshua said we will be held accountable even for our attitudes.

HOW DOES YHVH EXPRESS HIS ANGER?

YHVH’S ANGER IS DIRECTED AT SIN.
But YHVH shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. -- Romans 1:18. Why is Elohim angry at sinful people? Because they have substituted the truth about Him with a fantasy of their own imagination -- Romans 1:25. They have stifled the truth YHVH naturally reveals to all people in order to believe anything that supports their own self-centred lifestyles. YHVH cannot tolerate sin because His nature is morally perfect. He cannot ignore or condone such wilful rebellion. He wants to remove the sin and restore the sinner -- if the sinner does not distort or reject the truth. But His anger erupts against those who persist in sinning.