Anger And Forgiveness

This week we talked about Anger and Forgiveness with our youth. I thought this shirt was a great reminder.

You see, anger happens, but not all anger happens to be bad.

There are righteous reasons to get angry. Jesus himself got angry! The fine line is explained in Ephesians 4,

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26, 27 NIV84)

Anger comes when someone has wronged us or something was lost or taken from us. We feel line someone owes us.

If we allow anger to fester by not dealing with it, it will begin to pollute and control us. This is what the devil wants.

When we are angry at someone, its almost always because we feel like they owe us something. Jesus gives us a sobering parable about holding on to this feeling:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy‑seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35 NIV84)

We have been forgiven of all of our debt towards God, and because of that, God asks us to share that forgiveness with others. Don't let your anger lead you to sin, and don't give the devil a foothold. Thank God you are forgiven, and show people what Jesus was all about by living a life if forgiveness.