Anger And Its Management Part 2

V. “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment...” (MAT 5:22). This issue alone deserves attention. A. The Jews stressed the judgment of outward actions only, such as unlawful killing (v. 21) which was to be adjudicated and punished by sentence of death in wilful cases. NUM 35:31. 1. They knew the Law differentiated between premeditated or active killing and one who killed another but “...hated him not in time past” (DEU 19:6). NUM 35:22-23. 2. They recognized that inward malice was the fountain of murder but held that as long as the inward malice was not acted upon (either by self-restraint or by frustration of intention), there was no sin involved. ct/w 1JO 3:15. 3. Christ here warns against judgment for unjustified anger. a. God judges the heart, not only the actions (PSA 7:9; HEB 4:12), therefore the man who has unjustified anger against someone in his heart is judged a sinner by God regardless of whether or not he acts upon his anger. Anger And Its Management 3-30-25 Page 2  b. God judges unjustified anger that has offended a brother as rendering religious service unacceptable unless repentance unto reconciliation is done. MAT 5:23-24. c. Unjustified anger that lands one in the courts may also put one in danger of the civil judgment (MAT 5:25-26) so it is best to make amends beforehand. (1) Your cause may not look as rosy to impartial witnesses at law as it does to you. Trials have a way of cooling foolish heads of steam. (2) Consider Paul’s warning against brethren pushing things to law that should have been dropped or dealt with privately or by the church. 1CO 6:1-8. d. We have much to do in governing both our hands and our hearts (the seat of passion). Exercise discretion. PRO 19:11. B. We should avoid jumping to conclusions about others on the basis of limited, biased or spurious information. Much foolish anger is generated by such. ACT 19:28-29. 1. We are to avoid evil surmisings (the framing of conjectures; suspicion, esp. of evil). 1TI 6:4. 2. The other side deserves a voice, a chance to explain. JOH 7:51; JOS 22:10-34. 3. Circulating unfounded speculations that darken someone's character is slander, a sin before God (PRO 10:18; PSA 101:5) and an invitation to civil action. C. Suffice it to say that unjustified anger against another corrupts one’s heart, logic, speech and relationships. Those problems of themselves are judgments that should be avoided. VI. Anger and its management is much about control and this is summarized by: A. control of others: everyone should do what I want. B. control by others: a perceived victimhood, an unappreciated pawn that must retaliate. C. control of circumstances: frustration over things eluding one’s control. D. control of God: frustration that God doesn’t do things as you would like. E. control of self: lack of temperance (rational self-restraint), unreasonable expectations. VII. Success in this “control warfare” begins with improving control of self. A. We know that charity is the chief virtue. 1CO 13:13. 1. It “...is not easily provoked...” (1CO 13:5). 2. Preceding this are other aspects of charity like “...envieth not...vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up...seeketh not her own...” (vs. 4-5). These are pride issues, and they breed contention. PRO 13:10. 3. pride: A high or overweening opinion of one's own qualities, attainments, or estate, which gives rise to a feeling and attitude of superiority over and contempt for others; inordinate self-esteem. 4. We are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. ROM 12:3. 5. “Hot spirits are usually high spirits. Only by pride comes contention both with God and man.” (Matthew Henry) B. We are not to be soon angry. PRO 14:17; 29; ECC 7:8-9; JAM 1:19-20. 1. God is slow to anger. NEH 9:17. 2. Better to de-escalate a provocation than throw fuel on fire. PRO 15:1, 18; ROM 12:21. 3. Often, someone who says or does something to provoke another is really hoping that an angry response will be produced. 4. Also, if we would be honest, a short fuse of a temper is often our lazy choice of dealing with something or someone that perturbs us. It’s easier to explode than Anger And Its Management 3-30-25 Page 3  analyze and correct. 5. Look inwardly before taking umbrage at someone’s uncharitable words. ECC 7:21-22. C. Gaining control over our own spirit is superior to controlling everyone and everything else. PRO 16:32. 1. Having no control over our own spirit opens us up to attack. PRO 25:28. 2. He who enrages you controls you, and wicked men use this power to advance strife and their own agendas. D. It is observable that those who have no control over themselves will tend to demand control over others. 1. Nebuchadnezzar was a self-worshipping tyrant who demanded absolute conformity to his will. DAN 3:5; 5:18-19. 2. He was also a man of great fury. DAN 3:13, 19. 3. NOTE: we don’t gain control by losing control! 4. Also, those who gain control of their own spirits are more likely to be reasonable people that others will respect and be more willing to hearken to. Thus, ironically, the self-controlled, reasonable person actually does achieve a positive control of others and of circumstances. 5. We love and obey Jesus Christ not only because we must do so since He is our Sovereign God and Judge, but also because we know He is compassionate, reasonable and has our best interests at heart. Remember Napoleon Bonaparte’s observation about Jesus Christ: He has a greater power by love than emperors have by force. Anger And Its Management 3-30-25 Page 4