Daily Devotional For Saturday, February 24, 2024

Have you ever been around a hot-tempered person? Such people have very destructive words that attempt to achieve a certain desires through unfortunately ulterior motives. It is like I said about flattery — we flatter someone in order to manipulate them to gain some advantage. Or, when we gossip, we put a person down in the opinion of others to make ourselves look better.  Yet, both are deceptive and stealth weapons in our personal arsenal of people pleasing and people manipulation. Yet, worse are those people who are like Mt. Vesuvius —exploding with verbal lava destroying people without even a care.

Now, I am not talking about biblical confrontation that Jesus said we are to do in Matthew 18:15-17, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. (16) But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.(17)  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (ESV). No, we prefer to disobey Jesus when it comes to this. We rather gossip and slander instead. 

Look at these Proverbs:

• Proverbs 22:24-25, “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, (25) lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare” (ESV).
• Proverbs 14:29, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly” (ESV).
• Proverbs 29:11, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (ESV).
• Proverbs 19:11, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (ESV).
• Proverbs 16:32, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (ESV).
• Proverbs 15:18, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention” (ESV).

In these Proverbs, God is not talking about sane conversation, that may get a little heated. I often say, “If two people agree on everything, then one of them is not needed.” Rational thinking and truthful sharing requires a room for differing opinions without fear of reprisal or condemnation or rejection. If you could read Old Testament Hebrew, Proverbs 22:24 literally says, “Do not befriend an anger-owner” or “Do not befriend a lord of anger” (Charles R. Swindoll, Living the Proverbs: Insights for the Daily Grind (p. 88, Kindle Edition). The Hebrew word translated as “anger” in Proverbs 22:24 is [אָ֑ף, anf] and it refers to “a boiling pot of poison.”

Why? Because such a person is like a cobra with deadly venom striking its victims in rage. And if you haven’t noticed or learned, anger causes anger. Such people should be avoided because as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals” (ESV). Hang around a Mt. Vesuvius, and you’ll be erupting also. 

There is nothing wrong with anger. It is a God given emotion. God gets angry. It is what we do with it. When someone harms or hurts us, anger is a healthy and normal emotional reaction. Look Proverbs 29:22, “A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression” (ESV). Repressed and/or unresolved anger can be dangerous and open up opportunities for the devil to manipulate us to destroy a relationship. This is the point of Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, (27) and give no opportunity to the devil” (ESV).

Jesus said this about anger in Matthew 5:21-24:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ (22) But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (23) So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you (24) leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (ESV).

John MacArthur writes: “The Greek New Testament word translated as “angry” in verse 22 is [ὀργιζόμενος, orgizomenos] and it refers to intentionally brooding over, simmering one’s anger, thus not allowing it to die or stop. This is the anger that cherishes resentment and does not want reconciliation. Jesus says this kind of anger is a form or murder” (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 294).

1 John 3:15 says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (ESV). Well, that just about includes everyone at some time in their life. This means if we hate someone, we are just as much a murderer in Jesus’ eyes as the guy sitting on death row in prison. This is why Jesus strongly urges to straightforwardly confront the person who hurt or harmed us face-to-face.

In his book Being Nixon: A Man Divided, author Evan Thomas recalls the occasion when then President Richard Nixon received word that former president Dwight Eisenhower had died. Eisenhower had asked Nixon to deliver his eulogy. Thomas writes:

“Sitting by the fire on a cold early spring evening, Nixon began to muse to his speechwriter, Ray Price, about one particular quality that set Eisenhower apart. "Everybody loved Ike," Nixon said, not a little enviously. "But the reverse of that was that Ike loved everybody." Nixon went on: "He never hated his critics, not even the press. He'd just say, 'I'm a little puzzled by those fellows.’" Price could picture Nixon's mind working, catching himself. Nixon knew that what he had said was not quite true. It was too much to believe that Ike never felt anger. The difference was that, after a blowup, the anger passed, while Nixon let it fester. At some level, Nixon might have wished to emulate Eisenhower. But he couldn't. Possibly, he did not want to; resentment, though toxic, was vital to Nixon” (Evan Thomas, Being Nixon: A Man Divided (Random House, 2015), pp. 226-227).

Many psychologists and psychiatrists are now saying that America is in an “anger epidemic” due to unemployment, the economy, rising inflation and costs, the infiltration of undocumented illegals, loss of trust in government, the politicalization of government agencies against certain preselected Americans, anti-semitism, race relations and etc. We all would do well to remember Ecclesiastes 7:9, "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools” (ESV).

Questions To Consider

• What typically gets you angry and why? How do you choose to deal with it?
• When someone hurts or harms you, is your first response to obey what Jesus commands you to do in Matthew 18:15-17?  Why or why not? If you do not, then you have chosen to sin against God. In other words, to deal with being sinned against by someone, you choose to sin against God. How is that working for you?
• Have you ever obeyed Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:15-17? If so, when and what happened? Why do you think most Christians won’t obey Christ in Matthew 18:15-17?
• Read over the list of the Proverbs earlier in this devotional. Which one describes you and which one should describe you and why?
• What do you think about Jesus’ comparison of anger of a someone to murdering them?
• Do you ever brood over your anger, causing it to simmer and not die? Why?
• Read Psalm 37:8, “Don't give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble” (GNT). When have you seen this happen, even in your own life?

Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 14:17, “People with a hot temper do foolish things; wiser people remain calm” (GNT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I can at times have an anger problem. I can at times brood and simmer my anger instead of obeying Your Word in Matthew 18. I do not want to be a “murderer” as You define it. I want to be mercy-giver. Jesus, I know there are things I should be angry about — sin, evil, injustices, racism, sexism, pride, elitism, and etc. Jesus, I do not want to be a walking volcano. I don’t want to go from 0-100 immediately in anger to my family or friends. I want to treat people just like You treat me when I sin. Jesus, I commit to obeying Your Word in this area so that I bring honor and glory to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you! Pastor Kelly