Understanding Anger in the Bible

Anger is an interesting emotion. It is complicated because it is often presented as a negative emotion. You may have heard various series of sermons or read articles about how important it is to control your anger, or even read about anger in the Bible. But how does that work?

Being controlled by your anger is not healthy. It could lead to serious harm to your relationships. Learning about the complexities of this emotion is important for self-awareness and self-control.

Understanding anger, and about anger in the Bible is the best way to learn to not be controlled by it. Your anger can be a useful tool in helping you to change things that are not right. Anger can give you insight into emotional problems, the same way that pain gives you insight into physical pain.

Anger in the Bible: What is Anger?

Anger is a physical and emotional response when you sense something is out of your control. Something in your circumstances is causing the fight, flight, or freeze response. To not let anger control you, take some time to identify what is making you feel out of control.

• You feel out of control because you are tired or hungry. (Being “hangry” is a real thing, and a quick bite can help you calm down.)
• Maybe you feel out of control because you see an injustice and you want change to occur.
• Perhaps you feel angry because people are not meeting the expectations you have set out before them.
• It could be that you have been dealing with a lot of negative thoughts about the situation, and that leads to an angry reaction.
• A chaotic environment, such as an untidy work or living space, or an unpredictable schedule, could be causing you regular frustration.
• Anger could also be the result of certain mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, or PTSD. It is important to address these possibilities with your medical provider or counselor in case medication may be appropriate for you.

Anger in the Bible: Responses to Anger

Aggression is often mistaken for anger. Aggression is the response to the emotion of anger. The emotion is internal and can cause a heightened heart rate, a sense of threat, or the feeling of overwhelm. Your response to the internal emotion can look different depending on your self-awareness and preference for conflict.

Aggression is the external action you take based on the feeling of anger. You can choose to show passive aggression, open aggression, or assertive anger.

How does each of these look in relationships? Here are explanations for each type.

Passive aggression can look like manipulation and gaslighting. It might manifest in suppressing your emotions instead of dealing with them. Slamming doors, stomping around, and muttering under your breath are ways of expressing passive aggression rather than dealing with the situation.

If you want to withhold love and affection, that could be a passive aggression response to your anger emotion. Becoming aware of your tendency toward passive aggression will help you learn to deal with your emotion more directly.

Open aggression is generally associated with yelling, swearing, even physical violence. Name-calling or throwing objects around are obvious signs of open aggression. If you express your anger in any form of harming others, you need to seek help in practical anger management.

Assertive anger is when you can comprehend what is making you angry. You will be able to address the issues with real solutions to the problem. Assertiveness gives you the voice to speak up and speak out clearly in the case of wrongs, yet is not letting the anger be in the driver’s seat of your responses and emotions.

Is anger sin?

The emotions God gave you are not necessarily sinful. Letting your emotions control you and allowing those emotions to cause sinful behavior is a problem. God’s grace is sufficient for your frailty, but that does not excuse sinful anger. Read the following verses to learn about anger in the Bible.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. – Ephesians 4:26

This verse makes it clear that anger is not sinning but has the potential to lead to sin. Dealing with the cause of anger can help you prevent sinful behaviors.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. – Proverbs 15:1

Harshness is part of anger and needs to be avoided.

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. – Proverbs 16:32

Patience and self-control are good ways to keep anger under control.

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. – Proverbs 19:11

It’s important to overlook offenses to slow anger responses.

If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. – Ecclesiastes 10:4

Staying calm can keep anger from others at bay and help you maintain peace.

Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath. – Psalm 78:38

God has a right to be angry with us but holds it back. He shows mercy and forgiveness. This is a good example for us to follow.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. – Matthew 5:21-22

God takes our anger seriously, as in its extreme form can lead to murder. We must even watch the words we speak in anger and confess them as sin.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” – Matthew 21:12-13

This story of Jesus clearing the tradesmen out of the temple is another example of anger in the Bible. Jesus exhibited righteous anger, but unlike Him, sometimes our anger is righteous, and other times it is sinful.

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – James 1:19-20

Taking appropriate action on your anger is about understanding both what is making you angry and what is the best way to deal with that problem.

Problem-solving your anger

As you learn to understand your anger, and about anger in the Bible, you can find the solutions to help you cope with your anger. Here are several ideas for problem-solving your anger.

• Eat a healthy and regular diet, and drink plenty of water. Hydration and good nutrition can help you keep a cool head.
• Consistent sleep habits can keep you from being snippy and cranky.
• A brisk walk can give you a chance to relieve the anger in your body, and allow you to walk away from your situation and consider options for responding.
• A relaxation or meditation practice, such as slow breathing exercises, may be helpful to calm yourself down.
• Cleaning up messes and organizing your schedule could both be a part of preventing anger triggers in your environment.
• Consider your thoughts on a situation. Are you constantly thinking negative thoughts about a person or activity? The thoughts you have could trigger anger about many things. Learning to take your thoughts captive may lead to awareness of what makes the situation triggering to you. Commit the situation to prayer to cultivate good thoughts.
• Practice clear communication with good listening and expressing yourself.

When you can recognize and acknowledge anger as a tool, you will be able to use it appropriately. If you need more help, or want to learn more about anger in the Bible, don’t hesitate to reach out to a Christian counselor for support and encouragement.