Sermons and Studies

Anger Can Kill You

If you don't have a hard-copy Bible available or an app on your phone, Bible.com is a fantastic, free resource with multiple versions in numerous languages available. (I'm not trying to promote one site over another, I just know and trust this one.)

Before we begin, why not start with some praise and worship music that hits you right in the spirit, and spend some time worshiping the God who created you? If you're limited on time, play the music while you pray. Don't forget to ask God to open your eyes to what He wants you to learn and understand from this lesson!

Let's start with I Samuel 25:36-38. This is a prime example of anger killing someone! Nabal was so angry at his wife that he had a stroke. He literally died of his apoplexy! (An apoplexy is a fit of anger so powerful that one is incapable of intelligible speech.)

Let's look at a few other examples of deadly anger. The story of Balaam is a great place to start! The entire story is found in Numbers 22:22-33, but we'll take it a few verses at a time. In verses 22-23, Balaam allowed his anger to override his good sense. Most riders use reins to control a horse, mule or donkey that spooks like this poor jennet (female donkey or mule) did! Instead of trying to figure out why his normally-unflappable, intelligent donkey was afraid, Balaam beats her and forces her back to where she'd shied from.

Verses 24-25 show more evidence of Balaam's lousy horsemanship! Any other animal would have bucked him off in this situation.

Moving on to verses 26-30, we see yet another temper tantrum! By this time, Balaam has so thoroughly lost it that he argues with his donkey without stopping to realize that she is speaking in words! In fact, in his rage, he admits to wanting to kill her, which would, of course, leave him walking from place to place! Why? Because, according to v. 29, she embarrassed him! If he had done so, at that time, he would have walked straight into the angel's sword, but his donkey's (read that, 'God's') logic cools his hot head so that he can finally, finally, be reasoned with.

Verses 31-33 show the angel of the Lord taking Balaam to task about his animal abuse before he confronts Balaam about the prophet's obstinate attitude. The angel basically tells Balaam that the prophet is the one acting like a donkey, because the donkey at least had a good reason for her stubbornness where Balaam did not. Therefore, she would have been held blameless while Balaam would have died.

The next example of deadly anger is going to take a little bit of a scavenger hunt. Start with John 12:3-8, then go to Matthew 26:7-15. Finish with Matthew 27:1-5. Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us why Judas chose his course of action. There are several theories, one of which is that Judas was trying to force Jesus' Hand into becoming the militant, national hero that would deliver Israel from the clutches of Rome, but Judas was no zealot.

Knowing people, and based on these passages, it appears that Judas and Balaam had something in common. Judas, angry over Jesus' public reproach, sold Jesus out for 90 denarii (less than one-third of the cost of that perfume he wanted to 'sell to help the poor'.) A shekel (the temple 'piece of silver') was worth 3 denarii. One denarius was equal to a day's pay for a day laborer or a Roman soldier (think 'minimum wage').

Given the low price, I don't believe it was about the money for Judas, so much as it was about Judas' wounded pride. If it had been about the money, Judas would have worked harder at making a way more profitable deal for the Pharisee's number one, most wanted!

Also, after Judas' anger was cooled and he'd seen Jesus arrested (after he'd had his petty vengeance,) he realized the cost of his mistake and tried to fix it. Just as if Balaam would have destroyed his best mode of transport if he'd had a sword, so Judas had destroyed his own, golden goose. With Jesus arrested, He was out of the 'ministry circuit,' and there was no longer a purse for Judas to hold, let alone pilfer!

Scripture is filled with men who let their anger get the best of them. Saul let his anger at David drive him into months of pursuit at a time in an effort to kill David. In I Samuel 24, only David's reverence for the anointing of the Lord saved Saul's life.

Here's a rhetorical question to ponder: how would history be changed if Saul had shown the same reverence toward God by recognizing David as his anointed heir? How much better off would both men- and their respective families- had been? Certainly, more than just Mephibosheth would have survived, of Saul's line!

Then there was Jonah; so angry at God that he nearly caused the deaths of an entire ship full of innocent sailors, not to mention his own! In the end, his anger cost him three days of being digested, an unnecessarily long walk, and a nasty sunburn. After all, if not for his anger toward God's mercy and his hatred for the Assyrian Ninevites, he could have (make that, 'SHOULD have,') been in Ninevah, teaching the people about God and enjoying a nice inn. Instead, he sat out in the sun, watching a plant grow. The Bible has much to say about this!

Read Ephesians 4:26-27. How might history have changed, had Jonah or Judas practiced this?

Now flip over to James 1:19-20. Jonah is proof enough of this passage! Okay, not just Jonah; American politics at large also bears witness to this truth. Name almost any 'far left' politician these days as a cautionary tale.

How about the flip side though? Let's look at ways of controlling such destructive anger, starting with Proverbs 17:14.

Have you ever followed a stream to its source? We live in the mountains, where springs flows through a ravine before draining into Bennett's Creek, which flows into the Canisteo River, then the mighty Hudson River, then the ocean. Niagara Falls started as a mere trickle, somewhere, and strife is no different! If we see the strife beginning and 'hop out of the barrel' as it were, we won't end up being pummeled at the bottom of the waterfall.

Proverbs 17:27 adds to this. By following the advice from verse 14, this can help us develop our 'cool spirit' of an even temper (which is really just self-control.)

Now hop on over to Galations 5:23. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It's something that, if we allow it, the Holy Spirit can grow in us.

How do we 'allow' it to happen? Read II Peter 1:2-8. Look at the progression. It's the perfect, step-by-step recipe for what we need!

First of all, through the knowledge of God (Jesus, our Savior,) He bestows on us everything we need to maintain and grow in grace.

Secondly, by His promises (and knowing them,) we lose the desire to sin and become more like God.

Third, the first two steps are the reason we should apply ourselves toward exercising our faith. This exercise grows a spiritual cascade of progression. Moral excellence begets (brings about, or births) knowledge, insight and understanding, which then begets self-control. This is where most Christians stall in their Spiritual strength training because it requires so much deliberate practice to learn and grow. It does, however, bring about godliness, which then begets brotherly affection, which in turn, leads to Christian love (the full-on, I Corinthians 13 kind.)

These three things help you become that useful, productive, spiritual powerhouse of a servant that can change the world. They are like building muscles. You can't have those rippled, six-pack abs with just one sit-up, or even just by sit-ups alone. They are merely the first step. As one group of muscles grow strong, it enables the next set to strengthen, and so on. Just as anger can lead to death, developing self-control, especially over our tempers, can lead us to a far better life.

Dear Heavenly Father, losing our tempers brings about such destruction around us! Lord, open our eyes and our ears to see and hear ourselves when we grow angry. Help us, Lord, to not allow our anger to destroy all around us. Lord, even You have had occasion to grow angry. We know that anger, when applied in the way it was intended, can bring about positive change. Help us to learn to do that! We praise You, because You are worthy of all praise, honor and glory and we thank You, Holy God, because You are patient with us, to help us as we learn! Help us to learn, O Lord, in Jesus' Name, amen.