BE YE ANGRY, AND SIN NOT

This is neither a command to be angry nor a command not to be angry, for in their place both anger and a lack of anger are appropriate. This is because there are different types of anger. In various places the Bible confirms that God has righteous anger, the manifestation of His abiding attitude of displeasure against sin. Therefore, it is not wrong to have that kind of anger, but to lose self control, for whatever reason, is at all times inappropriate for the child of God. God is longsuffering and we should be reproducing the features of our Father in our lives.

The verse is to be understood as indicating to us that to be enraged and exasperated opens up the believer to the strong possibility of sinning and this is to be avoided. Anger of this kind is never alone. The sorry history of angry people in the Bible demonstrates this and all too often it is to be observed that their anger was in relation to those whom they should have loved. Esau was full of ire against his brother Jacob, who had to flee from home because of his hatred. Jacob also became angry when Rachel’s barrenness caused her to envy her sister. Simeon and Levi were angry regarding their sister’s treatment at the hands of Shechem and their anger resulted in instruments of cruelty being found in their hands. The outcome of the kind of anger that rises as a result of being intemperate is unpredictable and destructive and it is therefore to be avoided.

Additionally, we are commanded that we must not allow anger of this kind to fester. It must be dealt with. It is bad enough when we are angry but if we allow that anger to spill into another day, having not resolved the situation at an early stage, matters will only become worse. It is no surprise that the next verse warns against giving place to the devil, who is keen to take advantage of every failure.

Proverbs instructs us that ‘he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly’, 14. 17, and ‘an angry man stirreth up strife’, 29. 22. On the other hand, ‘he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife’, 15. 18, and ‘is better than the mighty’, 16. 32. Discretion defers anger, Prov. 19. 11, preserves relationships and assists in maintaining the unity of the Spirit.