Wednesday 2 March 2016

Anger Management



Anger Management

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

Titus 1 v 7: "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre."

For the record a bishop is a pastor or shepherd, not some fancy office created by ambitious men. In the Bible there are no archbishops, popes, pontiffs, cardinals,  or monseignors. The ministries in the Bible are Apostle, Prophet,  Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist, Intercessor. All are servants of God who follow the Lamb.

Anger is a common problem and could be the slow burn that builds like a tsunami and can be just as devastating or, at the other end of the scale, a quick outburst gone and forgotten in a minute. Just as devastating to the recipient as it is 'closed never to be reopened and dealt with.'

In between there is a whole range of anger-related scenarios like road rage; violent abuse; murderous anger; simmering anger that flares like a grumbling volcano; to suppressed rage that eventually erupts like a firework display or a bomb blast. 

Paul speaks of being angry without sinning. This is a holy, righteous anger like Jesus had against the scribes and Pharisees. He saw their evil hearts under their religious costumes. When pushed He told them to their face that they were evil. It caused Jesus to overthrow the tables of the moneylenders at the Temple because they were making His Father's House a place of merchandise.  He still gets angry at that today.

Paul also says we must sort out what is making us angry on the same day if possible. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Do not leave issues unresolved by bedtime. Keep short accounts of wrongs so that when you do deal with the immediate problem, three months of unresolved grievances don't get added to the pile.

Deal with one problem at a time in a calm and civilised manner. Treat each other with respect and love. You are Christians and should pray together to bring peace and understanding into your differences.

One of the root causes of anger is when your expectations are not met. One of the best things Jesus has taught me is to have no expectations at all. Don't expect gratitude, thanks, respect,  reward, love or anything else. Then you will not be disappointed when you don't get any. However if you do receive any kind of blessing it is sheer joy. Live life in the neutral zone where you don't expect to be obeyed, or people to just know what you need and give it. Then there is no blame or guilt.

If you are paying for something that is not meeting the promises of the salesperson, you have a right to complain and expect good service. You can be angry at unfairness and injustice and protest against it. But not with violence and vandalism.

It seems to me that road rage occurs when the driver has bottled up anger against someone he cannot confront like his boss; his in-laws; the government; or whoever has produced a lot of frustration in him. My father had a road rage problem after the 2nd world war. He hated Germans. He took it out on every VW Beetle (and there were many) that travelled on a road we were on.  It had to be overtaken. He would be in a fury until that VW was behind him. Then he would be calm.

Road rage can be deadly and dangerous when you want to take out your frustrations on a complete stranger who may have cut you off or caused you to brake or swerve. It escalates out of control and then tragedy strikes. You come to your senses and you have blood on your hands. The root of bitterness fuels road rage, and if you mix in some alcohol there is zero self control.  So become a forgiver of everyone that has hurt you. Uproot that bitterness and all its ugly fruit. Don't drive in anger and frustration as it could kill somebody.

People who are involved in occult, witchcraft or satanistic covens have a deep anger towards our God. They hate Him without a reason. They hate Christians and persecute them. Their anger erupts in a cold rage with hard cutting words and a malevolent look in their eyes.

I have been on the frontline with some of these and in their rage they don't hear anything so I quote scripture at them. A long while later I hear that scripture come out of their mouth! It goes in and bothers them.  While they are screaming take Godly authority over that demon of rage and command it to be silent. Be suitably surprised when the screamer suddenly calms down. 

Anger against a mother can turn a man into a woman hating abuser. If this is you then you need help from a pastor. You need to forgive your mother and ask Jesus to remove any bad memories that kick in and cause you to hurt your wife or other women. Maybe your father abused your mother and you thought that was the way women should be treated. It is always wrong to harm another person. Jesus said Turn the other cheek rather than strike back

James said in 4 v 7: Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Treat your anger, bitterness, frustrations, violence, alcoholism, drug abuse or other anger producing problems to this perfect formula. First submit yourself into God's hands, then say NO to the devil driving you, and then he will stop harassing you. Try it. It works.

Prayer: Father God, You get angry too - at sin and those who refuse Your help in combating it. Help us Lord to see ourselves as You, and others, see us when we go over the edge of reason. Help us to quickly overcome so we never lose our self control. I pray for all who read that the demon of rage and anger would be bound and you would be loosed to act and react in love, peace and patience to every unruly situation.  In Jesus' name. Amen.