Tag: #prayer #God’sGrace #SlowToAnger

Stop Being Angry: What Purpose Does It Serve?

God’s Word is clear that mankind should be slow to anger and quicker to listen to others and to love one another. Why, then, is God’s anger okay? We see that His anger is based on His righteousness, whereas our anger is based on our sinfulness — our pride, selfishness, and greed. Relying on His grace, we can show His love to a broken world.

“Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.” Psalm 37:8 (NLT)

“He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-temperated exalts folly.” Proverbs 14:29 (NASB)

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31 (ESV)

“In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)

WHAT GOOD PURPOSE DOES ANGER SERVE? The Bible is filled with admonition against human anger, while it promotes God’s righteous wrath.

So, what’s the difference? Why is it okay for Almighty God to be angry, but not us? Perhaps the key is not who is getting angry but why the person is angry.

Let’s take a look at God’s anger.

Theologian J.I. Packer says that God’s anger, as described in His Word, “is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, God's Righteous Angermorally ignoble thing” that often marks human anger but “a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil.”

God hates human sin. He gave us His commandments to steer us in the right direction. The first four tell us to love and honor God; the remainder tell us to love and honor one another. He gets angry — and rightly so — when we fail to do that. Continue reading “Stop Being Angry: What Purpose Does It Serve?”

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