Identifying Sinful Anger (part 2)

How do I know if my anger is right or wrong? It depends upon why I am angry and how I express it. Part 1 dealt with wrong motives for anger. Now consider the wrong expressions of anger.

Sinful Anger Involves Blowing-up. A list of ways anger is wrongly expressed is found in Ephesians 4:31: bitterness, rage, vengeance, emotional outbursts, and harsh words. These are all reactions, damaging to others or ourselves. These reactions don’t provide what others need. When I express anger by exploding and I “blow-up,” that is sinful. Proverbs describes the “blow-up” reaction with words like “hotheaded” “reckless” “quick-tempered” “quarrelsome”. The “blow-up” is when you are furious and let it fly and don’t care who hears or gets hurt. Anger on the inside spills out, and shows on your face, in your words, or by your actions. 

You may have been advised to blow-up as a way to release anger, but that is not a biblical method. Prov. 29:11 “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Psychotherapist Richard Winter says research shows that venting anger by shouting or hitting a pillow “doesn’t defuse, but may “inflame” anger. 

If blowing up is not usually a biblical way of expressing anger, what about keeping it in? Part 3 will look at “bottling-up” anger.