Pattern of Anger Management

UV 2822/10000 Pattern of Anger Management
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Ephesians 4 v 26

This uni-verse is full of the wisdom of the Lord. It does not say, “Do not get angry” but says, firstly, “ When you are angry do not sin.” Secondly, it says, “Do not let the sun set on your anger.” It implies that we should not end the day on a note of anger. We should allow ourselves to calm down and settle issues one way or the other with the person or persons with whom we are angry. We cannot allow anger to have a free run and take control of our lives, damage our relationships and affect our peace of mind.
Jesus Himself out of zeal for His Father’s house became angry. His anger was a righteous or holy anger. We can channelize our anger to serve just and righteous causes like supporting campaigns against violence, terrorism, gender bias and crimes against women. Our anger should not be due to hurt pride or a wounded ego. Anger, scripture states, rests in the bosom of fools. We can become angry as it is natural but we should not remain angry or do something foolish or evil in a state of anger. Even if we get angry for petty reasons, we should allow the anger to evaporate before the day is done. We should as a rule or principle not carry the previous day’s crap into the coming day just as cashiers carry their previous day’s balance forward.
Scripture states that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. We need to imitate this kind of divine temperament manifested in Jesus. We should not be hasty in making decisions in a huff while angry or it could make the situation even worse. We ought not to speak words of abuse in anger as we will regret it later and it puts us in danger of the judgement of the Lord and of the fires of hell. We should do all we can to return to equilibrium – our natural state of being kind, loving and gentle led and controlled by the Holy Spirit. The ultimate remedy for anger is found in love and forgiveness. We need to forgive others and not be bitter or resentful. We need to extend the same forgiveness that the Lord gave us in and through His Son Jesus.

Prateep V Philip