WHY ARE WE SO ANGRY??

KEY SCRIPTURE: He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)

This world is often a very, very angry place. We’re angry when we’re driving. We’re angry when we’re working. We’re angry when we’re talking with others. And we’re FURIOUS when we’re watching or listening to the news!  I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention!”

Yes, there is a lot in this world to be angry about.

We THINK we’re angry with our kids, or our spouse, or our parents, or our government… but the bottom line is every human being on this planet KNOWS that this is NOT how things are supposed to be.

Period.

This is a fallen, broken, hurting world, and - no matter what our spiritual beliefs are - we ALL know deep in our core this was NOT how it was originally planned. God has put this ache in each of our hearts… this desperate groan in our souls… a ravenous desire for things to be “right”… for things to be the way they were MEANT to be.

We look around and see that they’re NOT.

And this makes us angry.

This anger usually starts at a very, very young age, as the majority of us did not grow up in a warm, loving, encouraging environment filled with the grace, mercy and forgiveness we all so desperately need. (Because our parents didn’t either!) Anger begins growing roots deep into our hearts, and as the years progress, those roots flourish into a noxious weed that can strangle the love, joy, and life right out of our soul.

The Bible has a LOT to say about anger.

First of all, we must remember - emotions are not good or bad - they just are what they are. They're a part of you - a vital part of you! - and just like any other body part, like your hands or your eyes or your mouth, it's how you use them that can be "good" or "bad".

And so, I look at Jesus. When He was here, was He angry?

Absolutely.

Sometimes.

Like when He was so angry at the profiteering that was going on in the temple (prohibiting the prayer and worship that SHOULD have been taking place there!) that He went outside, sat down… and braided a whip! He then went back inside, flipped over all the tables and used the whip to drive out the birds and animals that were being sold, as well as those who were selling them! (John 2:15-16)

YIKES!!!

I always picture His face as He was sitting outside on the temple steps, braiding a whip… I don’t think he was whistling a happy tune like Snow White with birds landing on His shoulder as though He was merrily working on a craft project for Sunday School.

No.

He was livid.

However, even though it may have APPEARED that He’d completely lost his temper, He was actually in complete control… while still completely enraged.

Like Jesus, we SHOULD be angry… about some things. But, as Paul later tells us, “In your anger do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26)

How do we sin in our anger?

There are the obvious things - when we hurt people and destroy things, whether physical or emotional or relational - this is not good and we’re usually “sinning” or, in the most literal definition of “sinning,” we’re “missing the mark” when we do these things.

But then there are the other ways we “sin” in our anger… the more subtle ways we “miss the mark,” and that’s when we are so consumed with our anger, that we stop trusting and listening to God.

So, let’s unpack these two things really briefly.

First, trusting God.  How can we trust God when things appear to be spiraling out of control, seemingly faster than ever before?

Looking to His Word we see over and over and over again that people, (like David or  Moses or Joshua and others,) chose to remember all the times when God was faithful. They looked back, not only in their own lives but also in the lives of others, and remembered when God came through. How He promised to do something and He did it - over and over and over again. How He spoke through the prophets and what He said came to pass, over and over and over again. (Some of these things are STILL coming to pass, and some are still yet to come to pass!) When we re-member (or re-join) these things in our heart and mind, we know we can have faith in Him, and that He’s GOT this all under control… even when we can’t see it. (Job 38-40) Then we can rest in Him like a child resting in our mother’s arms. (Psalm 131:2)

The listening to God part is a bit harder, at first, but only because we’re not used to hearing Him. The world around us - the TV and radio and friends and family and social media and EVERYTHING-ALL-THE-TIME - is really, really, REALLY loud!

Usually, God is not.

He is kind and loving and speaks to us in a gentle whisper, (1 Kings 19:11-12) so if we’re not accustomed to hearing Him… we won’t. The best way I’ve learned to know His voice is when I have peace about what I’m doing or about to do.

100% peace.

Zero gut-rot.

Not necessarily that it will be easy, but that it’s His will right now.

Here’s a quick example… I’m rushing around to get ready for work and I get a gentle nudge to take a few minutes and do my squats. I’m really trying to get out the door because I have an early morning meeting and I really want to just keep getting ready and I really DO NOT want to stop and do squats! If I just push through and continue to get ready and run out the door, I have not listened - and I’ll feel guilty and then beat myself up all day and … this is not peace. Not only that, when I listen to my own wants and desires and agenda, His voice gets quieter and quieter… and I may not even recognize it the next time He speaks.

However, if I obey that gentle nudge, and choose to stop and do my squats, I immediately have peace about the decision. Doing the squats is still hard and not really what I want to do, (at all!) but I now have peace because I know I did what He prompted me to do.

Yes, it’s s silly example - but it really is that simple. Listening and obeying those LITTLE nudges - even (and maybe ESPECIALLY) when we do NOT want to - will not only make us more familiar with His voice, but it puts more and more of our lives in alignment with His will… and His heart… and we’ll have more of His peace.

Which takes us back to our anger.

When we are trusting and obeying God, we start to become more and more like Him. More and more of His Spirit is evidenced in our lives, which at it’s core, is Love. (Galatians 5:22-23)

We KNOW this is not how the world is supposed to be, (Ecclesiastes 3:11) but we can choose to TRUST that God loves us, (John 3:16-17) that He has good plans for us, (Jeremiah 29:11) that He is completely in control, even when we don’t see it, (Job 38-40) and He will use all of this for good (Romans 8:28) in the end. (Revelation) Choosing to trust allows us to listen to and follow Him… which is all He’s ever asked us to do, (John 21:22) because this is where we will find perfect peace. Even in the midst of our anger.

SCRIPTURES

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ~ He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. (AMP)

John 2:15-16 ~ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (NIV)

Ephesians 4:26 ~ In your anger, do not sin. (NIV)

Psalm 131:2 ~ But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (ESV)

1 Kings 19:11-12 ~ “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. (NLT)

Galatians 5:22-23 ~ But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NET)

John 3:16-17 ~ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (NASB)

Jeremiah 29:11 ~ For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. (AMPC)

Romans 8:28 ~ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

John 21:22 ~ Jesus replied, “If I want him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours? You follow me!”