Anger in the Bible: Help for Coping Better When You’re Feeling Angry

If you had the option to never feel or express anger again, would you take it? Depending on your experiences with anger, you might hesitate with your response, or you might respond quickly in the affirmative. Even people who have had mostly positive and healthy experiences with anger won’t necessarily feel warm feelings at the thought of anger. Anger is just that sort of emotion that’s an unwelcome visitor when it shows up.

For a Christian who wants to take the Lord and His desires for their life seriously, Scripture will guide their thoughts and attitudes toward everything. This includes how to approach anger and deal with this often-volatile emotion. Looking at what Scripture says about anger can help us understand it better and provide us with tools for handling anger well.

Our anger, our humanity

It could be tempting to see anger as something foreign to who we are, as the result of The Fall of humanity (Genesis 3). The first example of anger in the Bible appears after we rebelled against the Lord when Cain was angry and downcast because his brother Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God, and his was not (Genesis 4).

From that story, Cain’s anger then led him to lure his brother to a secluded spot, where he proceeded to murder him; this is the first murder documented in Scripture, and it’s closely tied to feelings of anger. However, the issue with Cain was that he allowed sin to work through his anger – instead of mastering it, sin mastered him, working through his anger and leading him to murder his brother (Genesis 4:6-8).

Sin twists what God created, misdirecting it. Our capacity for anger is God-given, and it isn’t always sinful. What stirs our anger, and what it produces are the issues to focus on. Where does that idea come from? The idea that anger isn’t always sinful emerges from Scripture. After all, God gets angry, and we also see Jesus, God in the flesh, getting angry. It’s important to ask the deeper questions – why are they angry, and what do they do with their anger?

Part of what it means for you to be a human being made in God’s image is that you reflect His nature and act in ways that resonate with His character. God does get angry in Scripture, but that anger is often unlike ours. Our anger is often easily triggered, rooted in insecurities, and it’s about us and not the well-being of others. Many of the Scriptures listed below will highlight how much of our dealings with anger are about curbing excesses.

Our anger is an integral part of who we are. Instead of trying to either suppress it or give it full vent, Scripture calls us to not only recognize our anger but to also grow in our ability to express it properly, in ways that bring flourishing instead of destruction to others or our relationships.

Anger in the Bible – godly dealings with a powerful emotion

There isn’t any doubt that anger is a potent emotion. When you feel angry, there are a lot of physiological changes that are happening inside of you, that give you the feeling of being fired up or ready to take anything on. Your heart is pumping, your respiration increases, adrenaline floods your body, and you might feel like reacting even before your prefrontal cortex checks whether what you want to do is reasonable.

The Bible talks about anger in a variety of contexts, and it addresses topics as wide-ranging as the sorts of things that rightly draw our ire, how destructive anger can be, why anger needs to be managed, and how anger can affect our relationships and well-being. Scripture also offers us guidance on how we can best manage and express anger appropriately. Some of the main Bible verses that address anger include the following:

Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger – Ephesians 4:26, NASB

Instead of denying that you’re angry, recognize and acknowledge anger in your life. This verse also makes a key distinction between the feeling of anger, and sin. Often, it’s where our thoughts and actions go when we’re angry that crosses the line and fails to love God and others as we should.

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

When you’re dealing with other people, you should recognize that your words and actions can stir up a reaction. You’re ultimately not responsible for another person’s feelings, but you can help lower the temperature in the room by being careful with your words.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice – Ephesians 4:31, NASB

Some forms of anger ought to be avoided because of how corrosive they are for your soul and the people around you. The words in this verse suggest that anger of the sort that clings to your heart damages relationships and ought to be set aside.

You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court – Matthew 5:21-22, NASB

Most of us never quite think of the fact that we’re answerable for our anger, or that Jesus takes our anger as seriously as murder.

In these verses, Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter. The outward actions we’re so often appalled by come from somewhere. That place is our hearts, and anger is often symptomatic of a much deeper problem, such as the desire to have it my way or not at all.

A person of great anger will suffer the penalty, For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again – Psalm 19:19, NASB

These verses point out not only how anger has negative consequences, but how it can be habitual, too. If someone’s anger is great, it will lead them into trouble again and again, until they bring it under control.

Like a city that is broken into and without walls, so is a person who has no self-control over his spirit – Proverbs 25:28, NASB

This verse points out the importance of self-control because, without it, you’ll be overrun by whatever comes your way. This verse can apply to a wide variety of situations, including how you deal with emotions like anger.

Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry, for anger resides in the heart of fools – Ecclesiastes 7:9, NASB

All things considered, anger isn’t something you ought to be eager to feel. If you look for things to be angry about, and you relish anger so much that it resides with you, the Bible refers to this as foolish. Sin can master you through your anger and devastate your life.

One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city – Proverbs 16:32, NASB

Patience is the ability to take things, including being aggravated, in stride. Being slow to anger is a skill that you can learn, and it can play a huge role in managing anger in your life.

Being slow to anger can include taking a moment to breathe to assess a situation, backing off or leaving the room when you feel anger rising, choosing to give grace and not give in to catastrophic thinking or make blanket statements about someone, and so on.

The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished – Numbers 14:18, NIV

God’s anger is directed toward sin and evil. He addresses it, but His response isn’t volatile or contrary to His character. When we get angry, we may act in ways we regret because they conflict with our values.

Being godly doesn’t mean not getting angry. There are things worth getting angry at, such as sin and evil ravaging God’s good world. How you get angry and what you do with that anger matters as much as why you get angry. Scripture provides us with pointers to help us understand our anger better, and it helps us recognize the importance of nurturing virtues like patience, self-control, and forgiveness.

Coping well with anger

The Bible encourages us to acknowledge and manage feelings of anger while avoiding sinful expressions of anger. This can be a difficult path to follow, but you don’t have to walk it alone. If you struggle with anger, you can speak to an anger management therapist. They can help you learn coping skills such as self-care and reframing your thoughts while encouraging you to grow in embracing forgiveness, love, and healthy expressions of anger.

It takes time and deliberate effort to put away and unlearn unhealthy expressions of anger, and to put on new ways of doing things. With help from a counselor, you can change the narrative and bring your anger under control. Reach out for help to begin mastering your anger. Call our office today.