“If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil.”1
According to a report in the John Hopkins Family Health report, “If you have a tendency to anger easily, you may be at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke—especially if you have heart disease or significant heart disease risk factors. Other tip-offs that anger may be undermining your health include being stubborn, impatient, or hotheaded, and habitually feeling like you want to hit someone or something.”
Anger, too, is a great destroyer of relationships. It’s no wonder that the Bible teaches us to resolve it quickly—the same day whenever possible. Being angry is not a sin. It’s what we do with it that counts. The Bible also teaches, “Be angry, sin not.”2 One way to do this when we are feeling angry is to “speak the truth in love,” and not lash out and hurt the person with whom we are angry.
Some well-meaning people want to blame the devil or a “demon of anger.” Not so with me. My anger is my problem. But when I fail to resolve it (or any other pent-up negative emotion) I give a “foothold to the devil.” When I resolve my anger, the devil loses his foothold.
People who have a super-sensitive anger button usually have unresolved anger from the past with an “anger tank” that is filled to overflowing. The slightest offense can trigger an outburst of hurtful anger. They’ve been nursing grudges for a long time. This is what the Bible teaches us not to do. That is, “don’t sin by nursing your grudge.” Where this is an ongoing anger problem, very often qualified counseling is needed to help resolve it.
Unresolved anger is unhealthy physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. This is why the Bible teaches, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Resolve and get over it quickly.”
Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be honest about my anger, recognize and admit when I am overreacting and, if it is a serious problem, lead me to find the help I need to resolve it. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Note: For the helpful article, “Taming Your Anger,” showing how to resolve anger click on: http://tinyurl.com/hkmjo.
1. Ephesians 4:26 (TLB)(NLT).
2. Ephesians 4:26 (KJV).
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