Is Anger Wrong?
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."
Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Mark 3:1-5
Daniel Goldman, in his book Emotional Intelligence, advocates that we take the “Aristotle Challenge” which states: “Anyone can become angry—that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—this is not easy.” From the human point of view, Aristotle was right. However, from the divine Creator’s view, it is easy through His divine empowering presence within the human heart. The bible records how Jesus was angry at the religious hypocritical leaders who were more concerned if Jesus would heal on a Sabbath than if a man with a withered hand was healed. Jesus was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and proceeded to heal them man and said to him, Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Yes, there is a place in life for anger against injustices and foolishness of men and demon. But the Word of God doesn’t allow us to fester on that anger and to do something negative with it. God’s word is unchanging:
"Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:26-31
There are not only real consequences to uncontrolled anger but it also brings upon some serious diseases. I had wondered why Elijah went to heaven in the chariot and Elisha who had double his anointing died of a disease. The bible records:
"Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die...." 2 Kings 13:14
At first glance here is no indication that Elisha had sinned causing God to put a disease upon him; however, when we look close we see that Elisha was given to anger. The bible records:
And the man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times." Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. 2 Kings 13:19-20
Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 2 Kings 2:23-24
Earlier, Elisha was angered and cursed forty-two children causing two female bears to kill them because they called him "baldhead." but Elisha himself did not make the bears kill the children. He commanded the bears IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, and the Lord drove the bears to kill these children. Why? Because disrespect of God's ordained prophet was the same as disrespect of God. It was a dangerous thing to mock God's anointed (1 Samuel 26:9; 2 Samuel 1:16; 1 Chronicles 16:21-22; Psalm 20:6, et. al). Elisha spoke for God, and these children blasphemed God when they mocked God's man. Disrespect of parents (Exodus 21:15, 17) was also punishable by death - would that shock the baby doctors who taught a generation of parents to avoid punishing their children? Elisha was angered, but it was not his anger that killed the children, but God's anger against a sinful and foolish generation who blasphemed His messenger. There's a parallel there, I think, for our children die in disease (HIV, AIDS, STDs), under drug abuse, in highway accidents, and even under their own hands because the parents of this generation have raised many who disrespect God and His anointed. However, it doesn’t pay to fester anger or to be an angry person as our bodies were not built for anger but for love. Mind you Godly anger is never wrong, though we must never allow anger to fester and turn into vengeance.
Anger causes us to do some foolish things. Moses grew up as the grandson of the Pharaoh, was tutored in the king's palace and made a name for himself, however his anger caused him to slay the Egyptian who was beating up on one of his own people (the Israelites), and he had to flee for his life. He left the palace and went to the back side of the desert. He married the daughter of a shepherd and lived in either a tent or cave for some forty years.
Moses killed an Egyptian because that person harmed God's chosen, Israel (Exodus 2:12). When God called Moses at the burning bush, at no point did he condemn nor even mention Moses action against the Egyptian. In fact, the only one who ever raised a cry against Moses was Pharoah. This is a far cry from God's treatment of Cain, who killed his brother, and was immediately (Genesis 4:7-13) cursed for spilling his brother's blood. In Moses' case the killing was ignored - perhaps because it was done in defense of God's anointed. Yet God’s word is unchanging:
Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 'and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 'Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 'But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.' "And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Get out, and all the people who follow you!' After that I will go out." Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
But the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land Exodus 11:4-10
Moses was justifiably angry at Pharaoh and told him that all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. But the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land. And the judgment came as a result and God killed all the first born in Egypt except against the children of Israel.
Moses uncontrollable anger caused problems for him. Once the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt Moses anger was aroused against his own people causing the death of many. Moses even broke the Ten Commandments in the process when his anger became hot. The bible records:
So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"
So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."
Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD'S side-come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.' " So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
Then Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother." Exodus 33:219-29
When Moses broke the first set of tablets of the Ten Commandments, again, at no point did God chastise him for his action. Moses was God's anointed, the leader of Israel, and his anger was justified. What Israel did was commit idolatry - worship of a false god - and idolatry was punishable by death (Leviticus 20:2-7). When Moses asked "Who is on the Lord's side?" he gave a clear call to see who would walk away from the idol - those who did not were killed, as per the Law of God (Exodus 20:3-5). Moses spoke in the name of God when he said, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel", and if he was speaking from his own heart or his own desires, then by God's very Law he should have been put to death (Deuteronomy 13:5).
Yes, Moses red hot anger would get him into serious trouble and this time with God. Previously as commanded by God Moses struck the rock, and the water came out from the rock. This time God commanded Moses to speak to the rock and it would yield water but Moses got angry and struck the rock instead, causing the Lord to become angry at him and not allowing him to bring the people into the Promised Land. The bible records:
"Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:6
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals."
So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. 0 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Numbers 20:7-12
Moses did the same thing on two different occasions – he struck the rock. But on the second time his anger and disobedience caused a serious negative consequence. When God's anointed spoke not God's Words but his own, this was punishable by death. This is exactly what happened to Moses the second time he struck the rock. God told him to SPEAK to the Rock, and yet Moses looked at Israel and said "Must WE bring forth water out of the rock" - then he struck it. Moses not only struck the Rock in disobedience to the command of God, but he took credit for bringing the water out of the Rock. The anointed of God is to say what God tells him to say, not make it up as he goes along. Moses did not act as God's anointed in this instance. He struck the Rock, and lost the Promised Land. Though he was not stoned, as the Law would have done, God allowed him to die looking out across the border of the Promised Land. Did anger lead him to this point? Yes, that and failure to heed God's Word. But God forgave Moses and he did get to see the Promised Land with Elijah and Jesus. The bible records:
And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power." Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Mark 9:1-4
Above all we must not have an unforgiving spirit due to anger at some one or something. An unforgiving spirit breeds bitterness. A bitter spirit will not take long to show its corrupting influence on the body. Bitterness is a deadly poison. It has been said that many diseases that cause distortions in the skeletal system is caused by bitterness in the soul. Bitterness in the soul also causes many kinds of skin diseases. An unforgiving spirit cuts off the grace and mercy of God in time of need and the body is left spiritually defenseless to spirits of sickness, disease and infirmity. Jesus said in Matt. 6:14, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you your trespasses.” Jesus repeated it in Mark 11:25, “...and when you stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any; that your Father also in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
The bottom line is that it doesn’t pay to disobey the Lord and to allow anger to control our actions. We will pay for our foolish mistakes. This is a lesson that Moses learned the hard way and a lesson that some people never learn. A person uncontrolled anger will destroy many things including his ministry if he has one. Yes, we are admonished in the Word of God to put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of our mouths. We are to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. God’s word is unchanging:
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:8-11
WALTER KAMBULOW
VICTORY MINISTRIES
