Pro 16:22 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the
mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Our Lord has provided us guidance in how we live our day to
day lives. He gives us example after example of how we are to both interact
with and treat others. Unfortunately, we have a weakness where we to quickly
give in to some sins. One sin high up the food chain is anger. It’s an easy sin
to get caught up in because it’s quite possible that we have a right to be
upset. However, how we act that out is a different story and that is what
causes anger to become sin. We see this play out time and time again with
saints and unbelievers alike in both Testaments of the Bible.
In fact, the first person to kill another did so out of
anger. If we go back to Genesis 4, we see Cain angry because his offering was
not accepted by God whereas his younger brother Abel’s was. We can also point
out the hypocrisy in Cain’s mind during this. After God calls out Cain for his
anger, the very next verse provides a rebuke of it, verse 7 “If you do well,
will you not be accepted? And if you do
not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but
you must rule over it.” If you do well… This statement signifies that Cain did
not “do well,” for if he had, his gift would have been received. Yet, instead
of suffering the rebuke and accepting the fact that God is right and he was
wrong, Cain doubles down on his sin, his anger against his pride being hurt
leading him to go down in the book as the first murderer.
But while anger in and of itself is not sin, failing to
properly recognize that your anger can lead to sin can cause grave
misjudgments. Consider this, James 1:20 says, “the anger of man does not produce
the righteousness of God.” Why? Because it is a work of the flesh. To be sure,
there is a godly, righteous anger. But that anger is never born out of the works
of the flesh. Righteous indignation stems from the understanding that we are
weak and unworthy of mercy while simultaneously having a firm desire to worship
God in truth and holiness and to please Him. Unrighteous anger is created in
the heart of a man, often when there is a perceived wrong that has been
committed. It stems from pride in receiving or not receiving what one deems to
be deserved. Such was the case with Cain. He thought his gift was worthy and
was visibly upset that it was rejected. He was angry because he “felt” he was
right and rather than beg for forgiveness for bringing a weak offering, he
rejects God’s admonition, dwells on his anger, and murders his brother.
Anger is an emotion that can become so weighty that it can
produce a bigger sin than what was intended to happen. How many stories have
you ever heard where a person in anger reacts in such a horrible way that they
commit a sin in response, only to immediately regret it and sink into sorrows? It
could be as simple as a harsh word towards another. It could be as grave as
harming someone else. Anger is an emotion that must be controlled at all times.
This is why the Lord gives us Proverbs 16:22, “Whoever is slow to anger is
better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” The
person that rules their anger has their emotions in check and glorifies Christ
in such a way that he is seen as a conquering hero.
Throughout scripture we are admonished to be slow to anger. We are reminded that the one who keeps his anger in check is the one who does not let the flesh rule where the Spirit of Christ should. So the next time you get angry, consider the source of that anger and the possible outcomes of sin should it be in unrighteousness. Give God the glory in relegating your emotion to its rightful place and honor Him in the submitting of every part of your very being to Him. Selah!
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