Week of Jan 20th - Anger

Key Thought:
What makes you angry?
How often to you get angry?
What do you do when you get angry?
Do you regret later what you have done while you were angry?

These are some important questions to ask about a very relevant topic. It seems like everywhere you go you meet angry people. You may even have an angry person in your own home. In fact, you might be the angry person others are thinking about when we ask the question, "Do you know someone who seems to get angry easily?"

The Bible tells us we can get angry…we just can’t sin when we’re angry. That’s hard to do. Recently I was angry about a lack of customer service I received. It was beyond ridiculous! A business had charged our credit card for more than $200 without authorization and it took them almost a year to fix their error. In the meantime, I dealt with feeling ignored and even feeling disbelieved. In the end I had to get angry to get them to take the proper action. I told them what made me really angry is that I was forced to be angry before they would respond to me. They fixed the problem in exactly 2 minutes! Even now they still haven’t taken full responsibility for their error and their lack of responsiveness in the situation. Throughout this ordeal I had to keep checking myself, “In my anger am I doing or saying anything sinful - anything that would dishonor God?”

I have learned that the good side of anger is that it is sometimes what we need to take the actions we have been too passive or cowardly to take. Anger can also help reveal the deep inner values and beliefs that we hold. If something doesn’t make me angry then obviously it’s not important to me. Conversely, if something petty or of a selfish nature makes me angry, I realize I need to change my value system. Lastly, we must identify if our anger is simply the result of being impatient with others, ourselves, or even or God!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Good and Angry (Jan 20th , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Genesis 30:2
Tuesday – Numbers 32:1-13
Wednesday – Exodus 32:19
Thursday – James 1:19-20
Friday – Ephesians 4:26

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What is something silly that angered you recently?
2. What is something significant that has made you angry?
3. Have you been hurt by angry people in your life?
4. What does our anger reveal about our values and beliefs?
5. What values and beliefs does your anger reveal that dishonor God?
6. When a Christian is quick to anger or loses control in there anger, what is at stake?