Anger
Quick, Slow, Slow – Part 3

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:17-21

Key Verses: James 1:19-20

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

For the last two days we have been looking at one of the best passages of scripture about anger. It lays out a clear path to follow if we need help in anger management. Today we cover the third of the three steps: “Slow to Anger.” The apostle James writes that everyone should be slow to anger because anger does not bring about the kind of lifestyle that God desires from us. Again, I want to remind you that anger has two sides, one is the “feelings” we experience; the other is the “behavior” that often results. There is no sin for the “feelings” part – that is not to say that these feelings couldn’t develop into a bitterness that is, indeed, destructive and sinful to us. God challenges us not to “sin in our anger” – thus focusing on the behavior that can easily result from angry emotions.

The question for today is: how do we slow our anger? First, we must realize that anger is a secondary emotion. In other words, something else has come before it. A primary emotion is fear or hurt. These primary emotions can produce our secondary response of anger. We can slow our anger down by looking for the primary emotions that caused our anger. For example, if a man is constantly getting angry about his wife’s spending habits, his primary emotion is probably fear… fear of financial instability and loss. A couple could, in this example, deal with the issues of good financial management – thus reducing, if not eliminating, the husband’s anger. Ask God to show you “your” primary emotions if you are struggling with anger!

Prayer: “Father, I claim your promise of wisdom. Show me the causes of my anger that I might not sin against you. In Jesus’ Name, amen.