“Aghh!”
A frustrated man cried out in the middle of his yard. It was already the third or fourth time that his chainsaw stopped working, or to be more precise, that the chain was lose. He tried repeatedly to fix it, but the chain and the bar didn’t cooperate with him, which in turn led him into more anger and frustration.
“Aghh!”
He yelled even louder this time. He was so angry that he was ready to punish the stubborn machine by sending it into orbit. At the zenith of his anger, he felt a small hand on his shoulder and heard the voice of his grandson:
“Papa, why are you angry?”
The confused and angry man was shocked by this simple question. He was furious and enraged because he couldn’t fix a chainsaw. In his mind, he justified his anger by thinking that he was just trying to do something good for his wife and now all he wanted to do was to throw this chainsaw…
“Don’t be angry, Papa”
Anger is a big problem for many people in this world. Uncontrolled anger has been responsible for countless deaths, from road rage assaults, to “domestic” (or wild) violence and all kinds of wars. Anger in the heart is worthy of eternal hell (Matthew 5:21-22), for anger is the seed that blossoms into a tree of violence, revenge and murder.
This is exactly what happened with Cain and Abel. God accepted Abel’s sacrificial offering, but rejected Cain’s fruit basket (which represents works-based religion). Cain was incensed with the turn of events (instead of repenting) and God asked him,
“Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?” (Genesis 4:6)
We all know the end result of his anger: He killed his own brother, in one of the most despicable acts ever committed upon the earth. If Cain would have listened to God the story would have been different!
Anger is a burning fire that destroys everything on its path. Anger has led nations into war with one another; anger has broken up millions of marriages and families; anger has even brought senseless divisions in Bible-believing churches!
God still asks today the same question the young boy asked to his grandfather, and the same question He posed to Jonah almost 3,000 years ago:
“Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4, 9)
It is not right, holy or wise to be angry for the wrong reasons. Be angry against sin, idolatry and evil, but do not allow sinful (and foolish) anger to control your emotions or your attitude. Choose joy.
A.G.
