Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger

God made every single one of us different and unique. With that, we differ in the way that we handle our emotions, especially our anger. When two people with different personalities, preferences, and quirks live together, they’re bound to become irritated or angry sometimes. However, anger can be different in each marriage based on how it’s expressed and managed. People often learn to disguise their anger and deal with it through masking behaviors such as gritting their teeth. The other extreme is allowing anger to escalate to flat-out rage. And as we learn in the Bible, anger is not in itself bad, Jesus had righteous anger. Most famously, Jesus became angry in the temple when religious profiteers were exploiting people. In response to the regular injustice being practiced, Jesus made a whip and overturned tables. But as we have all come to notice, we are certainly not Jesus and so we need to manage our emotions appropriately. God gave us a heart and a brain — emotions and logic. Both are necessary and affect our decision-making and worldview. Anger itself isn’t the problem. Ephesians 4:26 says, “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. We have to find Biblical ways of handling our anger without holding our anger inside and becoming passive-aggressive behaviors or just openly and uncontrollably venting our emotions

Anger and other negative emotions can have an impact on our marriage, that is why we must figure out how to control those emotions with the instructions from the Bible. God tells us, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4: 29-32. We are told to get rid of bitterness and anger and instead be compassionate and forgiving. If we stay focused on all the things that we have been forgiven of, it makes forgiving our spouse a lot easier. The only one who was perfect was Jesus, the rest of us all fall short on an hourly basis, so forgive your spouse and help them to forgive you. A world without forgiveness is not a world many of us want to be a part of.

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Slow to Anger

Have you ever felt guilty about the anger that you have shown towards your spouse? I know if you are like me there are too many to count. Anger, irritation, and frustration can all lead us to act in ways that are unbiblical and not pleasing to God. But how do you get around these emotions without acting like a fool? The Bible tells us to rid ourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth. Colossians 3:8. In the bible we see many examples of how being angry can cause us to sin. When we look back at why Cain killed Abel, it was because Abel’s sacrifice was pleasing to God and he became angry over that. King Saul tried to kill David because of anger, the same thing happened to the Pharacies killing Jesus. Anger starts us off on the fast track to sin. In the story of Cain and Abel, the Lord tells Cain how he needs to respond. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4: 6-7. God tells us to master our emotions, especially anger before it gets the best of us.

Even God gets angry but His anger is a righteous anger. But He, being compassionate, forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger and did not stir up all His wrath. Psalm 78:38. God shows us that our emotions can be controlled and restrained even when we are angry for the right reasons. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103: 8-10. Not only does God restrain His anger, but He is also “abounding in steadfast love.” He never ever runs out of a love that never, ever waivers. When I think about God’s holy, set apart, transcendent nature in light of my struggle against sin, it is the best news that God is not only patiently withholding anger, but He is eager to lavish us with His love. Instead of dealing with our anger towards our spouses why don’t we put aside the anger, put on love, and let God deal with our husbands in the way that only He can. We know if there is discipline that needs to happen, His discipline is perfect. And when you need love and forgiveness, God has got that covered too.

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