HANDLING ANGER
A Summary Adaptation of Message Preached to
the Ladies Bible Fellowship on 11 March 2023
Anger refers to the intense displeasure one feels when he regards someone or
something as bad and offensive. With this in mind, I am sure we all have been angry
before some time in our lives. We may have also experienced how the failure to
handle this anger appropriately had led to disastrous consequences. Thus, it is good
that we learn from God’s infallible book on how to handle anger.
Firstly, we have to address the misconception that anger is sinful and thus a carnal
emotion. We read in the Scriptures of God being angry. Examples include:
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Ps. 7:11)
“Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight:
there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.” (2 Ki. 17:18)
Jesus Himself expressed anger when confronting sin during His earthly ministry:
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in
the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money
sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the
temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and
overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence;
make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” (Jn. 2:13-16)
“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the
hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he
stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.” (Mk. 3:5)
Lastly, Moses was angry when the children of Israel sinned by making the Golden
Calf:
“And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and
the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and
brake them beneath the mount.” (Exod. 32:19)
Thus, we see that anger is righteous when we are displeased with that which is an
abomination before God. On the other hand, anger is sinful and carnal when it is
unjustified and uncontrolled.
How then can we prevent ourselves from falling into unrighteous anger? The book of
Proverbs provides some instructions.
Know its Dreadful Consequences
• It breeds self-confidence, not God confidence.
“A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is
confident.” (Prov. 14:16)
• A person may rage because he thinks he is in the right and does not see that he
is in error. This is foolish self-confidence. His anger will continue to seal him in
his deception, driving away those who try to help him back to the good way.
• It breeds foolishness and wickedness.
“He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is
hated.” (Prov. 14:17)
• When you are hasty to anger, it leads you to foolishly consider destroying the
other party at all costs. Instead of pursuing righteousness, you will use your
effort to design wicked ways to hurt others. Thus, you will be hated by others.
More importantly, you will anger the Lord.
• It breeds strife.
“An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in
transgression.” (Prov. 29:22)
“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth
strife.” (Prov. 15:18)
• The angry man is not peaceable, but is often a source of argument, contention
and division. He is a destroyer of unity.
• It leads to violence.
“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous but who is able to stand before
envy?” (Prov. 27:4)
• When anger is uncontrolled, it can lead to overflowing violence. The word
“cruel” here has the idea of merciless conduct, while the word “outrageous”
carries the picture of a torrential flood of water that cannot be stopped. You will
end up ventilating your anger by yelling hurtful words and insults. Some may
even trade blows and destroy things around them. The angry man becomes a
mega storm.
Fear God
Consider the first-half of Proverbs 14:16 now, “A wise man feareth, and departeth
from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.” The fear here is not ungodly fear like
that of the devils, who tremble before God and yet continue to rebel against Him
(James 2:19). A true fear of God is rooted in the knowledge of how great and holy
God is, and thus one will be careful not to sin against Him and to invoke His wrath.
Consequently, he will pray to the Holy Spirit to help him control his spirit as he does
not want to sin with unjustified anger.
Be Temperate
“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a
transgression. (Prov. 19:11)
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he
that taketh a city.” (Prov. 16:32)
• The call here is not to be rash, but to think before we act. We must never give in
to our emotions but firstly to evaluate carefully from God’s Word on whether our
anger is justified. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can rule over our spirits
and affections, bringing them under the subjection and truth of God’s Word. He
will remember that the unrighteous wrath of man worketh not the righteousness
of God (James 1:20).
Whenever we feel agitated or provoked, we must pray to the Lord and not be in a hurry
to express our feelings. Acting without discretion leads only to folly, “Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James
1:19).
Yours affectionately,
Pastor Clement Chew
From the Archives
Life B-P Weekly, Vol. XVIII, No. 35
13th March 1983
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“And to teach them in the tasting, to know the gift is Thine”
by Timothy Tow
Life Church is about the only Church in Singapore that has neither fence nor gate to its
compound. It is a Church that extends an open welcome to one and all to the Lord’s
House for whatever need they have.
One open door to Life Church is the Wedding Door. Couples from branch churches, from
small Bible-believing churches that have no appropriate sanctuaries, are received with
courtesy and Christian love. Life Church does not impose any red tape of filling forms
nor require any stipulated fee. Other churches, however, have rightfully required of users
a fee of $150 for the sanctuary, another $150 for the fellowship hall and kitchen facilities,
etc.
Do users of our premises for weddings and other purposes like Bible Camps feel thankful
for the Lord’s generosity? Some do, but these are a rare breed. Most take advantage of
“Aunty” with a small angpow. Some do not even care to send a thank you card. On record
there are four cases (including two from one branch church) of even professionals making
use of the Lord’s house with nonchalant unthankfulness. A certain doctor gave the Lord,
in years gone by when money was “bigger”, $20 and the caretaker $2 when he spent
thousands at a nearby hotel.
It seems to me that the blessing of a church wedding to such a couple could only be
proportional to the expression made to the Lord of the Church. By God’s grace, the open
door of Life Church must stay open to one and all, the unthankful notwithstanding.
Pastor’s note: How you give reveals your heart.