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| I stepped out of the car in Kenya and took a shot of this. |
I'm speaking this morning at Redeemer on Ephesians 4:17-27. I'll give everyone a copy of this and share how to work through anger.
In every good marriage, in every good friendship, in
every church and wherever there are people, feelings of anger happen. I once
had a friend tell me, “I never get angry.” My thought was this: here is a person
out of touch with what’s going on inside of him. Even God feels anger. Even
Jesus felt anger.
When
I feel angry, what can I do?
1. Recognize your anger. “Anger” is the emotion a person feels when one of their expectations has not been met. For example, if I drive across town expecting every light to turn green when I approach, I am going to be an angry person. Because this expectation will not be met. Therefore...
2. Identify your unmet expectation. Fill in the blank: "I am angry because my expectation that ________ was not met."
3. Evaluate your unmet expectation. Is it either: a) godly, reasonable, good, fair; or 2) ungodly, unreasonable, bad, unfair. In my "driving" example above, my expectation was irrational.
4. Reject ungodly or irrational expectations. If, for example, you expect people to clearly understand every word that comes out of your mouth, you are now free to reject this as an irrational expectation. Or, if you have the expectation that other people should never make mistakes when it comes to you, I now free you from that ungodly, irrational expectation.
5. If the unmet expectation is godly/fair, then ask: Have I communicated this to the person I am angry with? If not, then communicate it. For example, my expectation that persons should take off their shoes before entering our living room may be both rational and of God. But if I have not communicated this to others, my anger at the unfulfilled expectation is still real. My expectation that people should know such a thing without being told is unfair.
6. If you have communicated it clearly to the person you are angry with, then communicate your anger this way: Say “I feel angry because my unmet expectation is __________________.
Communicate
this in your own way of saying things. Begin your sentence with “I” rather than
“You.” For example: “I feel angry…” rather than “You make me feel angry…” Doing
it this way asserts without aggressing. For the person who hears
this, it does not feel so attacking.
Get rid of irrational or ungodly expectations. As you get free of these things you’ll find yourself less angry.
Remember that from the Christian POV, “anger” is not sin. Ephesians 4:26 says, “In your anger do not sin.” We are not told never to feel anger. There is a righteous anger, and that is not only appropriate but necessary. But when we feel the emotion of anger we are never to sin. In all relationships we are never to be harsh, demeaning, vindictive, or abusive. Remember that in every close relationship there is anger. The anger-free relationship is a myth, and probably is a sign of unhealth when claimed.
Finally, Ephesians 4:26 says, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” Which means: deal with anger quickly, and in a loving and truthful way. The goal is always restoration of relationship and reconciliation.
I am thankful that only it’s only been a
few times in our almost 40 years of marriage that have Linda I fallen
asleep angry with each other. The reason for this is not that
we’re some special, exceptionally compatible couple. We are this
way because we were taught to do this by godly people who spoke into our
lives. We were sufficiently warned about the cancerous bitterness that arises
when anger is “swept under the carpet.” We don’t want satan to gain even a
toehold in our hearts. We have asked God to help us with this, and He has!
If you have allowed the enemy entrance
into your heart because, in your anger, you have sinned, then confess this to
God.
Then, receive God’s forgiveness and give
Him thanks. 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Acknowledge, before God,
that you are a new creation in Christ.
Ask God to help you, and
trust that He is now doing so.
