Being angry is inevitable. It can be the immense traffic at 8:00 am in the morning, an argument with a friend, or simply being upset about how things are going. Anger is a natural part of us, believe it or not. However, before understanding how to better our Christian lifestyle, we need to get to the root of the evil, find our problems, and make changes. From a single question, we can improve our attitude and learn to cease anger.
In the Bible, there came a time where a set of brothers made an offering to the Lord. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. The Bible says that the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but did not respect Cain’s offering. As a result, Cain became very angry. The Lord saw that his countenance fell, and God asked Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door” (Genesis 4: 7). There is an important thing to note here.
“Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?”
Cain didn’t obey God because he gave God what he thought was best, not what God had asked of him. The Lord said, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” God spoke, but Cain refused to listen. Quite often, we do the same thing too. We are quick to do things our way, hoping that God goes along with it. However, it’s funny how the things we shouldn’t do we do, and that which we should do, we don’t. From the start, God should lead, and we should follow.
As a result of disobeying God, Cain was upset that God didn’t accept his offering. However, this could have been avoided if Cain would have listen the first time. The sad thing is, Cain’s anger caused him to take his brother’s life. Cain killed his brother.
Like I said, anger is inevitable. Harsh words fuel anger, bringing anger to life. The book of proverbs has a lot of advice for our day and age. The Bible says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Even if we may sometimes be the ones to start anger, other people may be angry as well and take it out on us. However, speaking words of kindness changes everything.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1)
We are not humans. Sometimes things are unavoidable for anger to arise. For example, a person in traffic. There’s a difference between being angry and not sinning vs. being angry and sinning. The Bible says, “Be angry, and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26). A word of advice from the Bible is to make peace before you go to sleep.
Anger can be seen as an emotion, but it doesn’t have to lead to action. The word of God tells us to do the opposite, “… be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Whenever you have the urge to be angry or stay angry, here is the question we should all ask ourselves. What would Jesus do? Jesus encountered many different people. Most of the time, the scribes and the Pharisees attempted to attack Jesus, but Jesus turned the other cheek. Jesus loved and spread kindness everywhere he went.
No matter how hard we try, anger sometimes encompasses our daily routine. However, the next time you have the urge to get mad or make your actions speak louder than words, ask yourself what would Jesus do. See if your countenance changes. With humanity this can be impossible. However, with God, all things are possible. Be the difference in this world, spread kindness everywhere you go, and let love abound from within you.