The Bible teaches us quite a bit about our anger and how to deal with it. It is probably because anger can spread and it can cause much damage.
The late Billy Martin, a former Major League baseball player and manager wrote in his autobiography, “Number 1”, about hunting in Texas with Mickey Mantle, another former Major Leaguer.
Mickey had a friend that would allow him to hunt on his ranch. Mickey and Billy drove to the ranch and Mickey asked Billy to wait in the car while he went and asked his friend for permission to hunt. Mantle’s friend quickly gave him permission but asked him one favor. He had a pet mule in the barn that was suffering and he didn’t have the heart to put it out of its misery so he asked Mickey to shoot it.
When Mickey returned to the car, he pretended to be angry and slammed the door as he got in the car. Billy asked him what was wrong and Mickey replied, “He won’t let us hunt. I am so mad at that guy I am going to the barn and shoot one of his mules!”
Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn as Martin protested, “We can’t do that!” But Mickey was adamant.
“Just watch me,” he shouted. When they got to the barn, Mickey jumped out of the car, grabbed his rifle, ran into the barn and shot the mule.
As he was leaving the though, he heard two more gunshots and he ran back out to the car. He saw that Martin had taken his rifle out too. “What are you doing, Martin?” he yelled.
Martin yelled back with his face red with anger, “We’ll show him! I just shot two of his cows!”
Billy Martin was a great teller of stories and many doubt that the event actually happened, but it does illustrate a great truth. Anger is very dangerous and can be contagious. Maybe that is why God has spent much time teaching us about anger.
The word anger appears in the NIV Bible no less than 266 times! Most of those occurrences tell about the results of anger or how evil it can be. Most people cannot think clearly when overcome with anger. Anger is often the flame that lights the fuse that sets the powder keg on fire. When the powder keg burns, it will eventually explode. We will get angry, God knows it. That is why He instructs us to be slow to anger. Look closely at James 1:19–19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. In the context of discussing opposing views, we are instructed to listen, think before we speak and to be slow to anger. In reality, anger is only going to make a bad situation worse. Notice the words of James in verse 20–20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
God has blessed us far beyond what we could ever imagine and even deserve! His goodness, righteousness, mercy, forgiveness, and grace are far greater than any negative in our life that can cause anger. If we focus on God and His amazing gifts, we then can purge anger from our lives.
Read Proverbs 22:24, 25