In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:26, 31-32
Years ago my Dad was in New York City for some kind of meeting (we lived about 40 miles north of NYC while I was growing up). As he walked back to the train station following the meeting he was waiting to cross a busy intersection when he witnessed the following scene: a stream of pedestrians were walking through the crosswalk while a line of cars waited impatiently for the light to change. It was rush hour so everyone was in a hurry. One of the pedestrians was a very well dressed man who appeared to be in his 60’s and was carrying a fancy, rolled-up umbrella. The car in front of the traffic was shiny black Mercedes – a beautiful luxury car. As the man crossed in front of the Mercedes the driver allowed his car to just edge forward enough – in an attempt to get a jump on the light – to bump the man’s leg ever so slightly. The gentleman with the umbrella stopped in the middle of the street, glared at the driver through the windshield, glanced up at the traffic light which was about to change, and then slammed his umbrella on the hood of the Mercedes leaving an umbrella-shaped dent. He then turned on his heel and continued across the street while the light changed and the driver had no choice but to drive home with a reminder of the old man’s rage!
In Philippians the Apostle Paul mentions two forms of anger that are sinful and destructive: rage and bitterness. We’ll focus rage today and bitterness tomorrow. The man with the umbrella expressed his anger as rage! Rage is anger expressed outwardly and explosively. Rage is setting off 25 bug-bombs when one would do the trick. Rage is sinful because it hurts and destroys.
While we are all capable of rage, some of us are more prone to the expression of anger as rage than others – simply by personality. Those who tend to “wear their emotions on their sleeve” or those who are naturally more expressive may also tend to express anger outwardly. So how do we “get rid” of rage? Paul makes it sound simple – but our experience tells us it’s not that easy!
Read again David’s prayer in Psalm 109:1-2.
O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent. For wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
He begins by identifying what other have done to hurt him. This is an important step in getting rid of anger and rage – we clearly identify and name the nature of the offense.
Appoint an evil man to oppose him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. Psalm 109:6-10
David then moves to expressing his rage against those who have wronged him through a series of “curses.” He is clearly wishing that God would visit swift and severe punishment on his enemies – even death!
But notice that David does not actually attack the men who have mistreated him. He does not scream at them, or commit some violent act against them – nor does he bottle-up his pain and carry it around with him (more on this tomorrow) - rather, he expresses his rage in prayer!
The safest place to express our rage is with God. The only safe place to express our rage is with God!
When we combine Paul’s teaching in Philippians with David’s prayer in Psalm 109 we learn that the way to compassion and forgiveness passes through rage – and rage must be expressed through prayer.
Have you trusted God with your feelings of rage?
Brian Coffey
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