In This Issue:
Get It Right Before Bedtime
When Anger Is Sinful
Uncontrolled Anger
When Humor Helped Keep His Shirt On
Yielding Personal “Rights”
Unhappy and Last Place
Volume: 1022 October 20, 2025
Theme: Anger
Get It Right Before Bedtime
Bill Brinkworth
Part of man’s makeup includes the “anger” emotion. Perhaps, because we are made in the image of our Creator, we received this reaction in certain situations from God.
Reading the Scriptures, one will quickly see some instances where God was angry. There were times when God was angry with Moses (Ex. 4:14), Aaron (Deut. 9:20), Israel (Deut. 9:8, II Kings 17:18), Solomon (I Kings 11:9), and the wicked on a daily basis (Psalms 7:11).
God’s only son, Jesus, also got angry at times. He was angered by hardened hearts (Mark 3:5). Most likely, Jesus was angered when He saw people making the Temple, a place of worship, into a place of commerce (John 2:14-15).
However, when God and Jesus became angry, no sin was involved. God is Holy (Lev. 19:2, I Sam. 2:2) and does not sin, nor does His Son (Heb. 4:15). Anger does not necessarily need to be sinful.
There are still things that make God angry, and I am sure they still break Jesus’ heart. We encounter plenty in this life that should make a Christian angry.
The killing of 4,000 innocent babies a day by abortion should make a Christian angry. The world’s brainwashing attempt to get people to accept and tolerate sin should get a believer mad.
Punishing righteousness and godly living should make one displeased. Christians live in a world where many things are done contrary to what the Bible teaches we should do, and they should get upset over that. We should love the sinner, but sin should make us angry.
Sometimes people’s reactions to things, which may not necessarily be a sin, can get them mad. Regardless of what upsets us, we must be cautious, as anger can lead to sin. A Christian must always be wary of getting involved in iniquity. One must avoid anything that may, at one point, lead one to do wrong.
For this reason, God has given us a blow-off valve so the pressures from our anger do not evolve into sin. God’s warning is that no matter what gets you angry, make sure you get it right before the day is over. Before the sun goes down and before you put your head on your pillow, make sure you deal with your anger.
If you find yourself angry with your wife, family member, coworker, or anyone else, make sure to address it before the end of the day. That means someone may have to surrender their pride and discuss the day’s provocation with their spouse before bedtime.
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” Ephesians 4:26
A child may need to be apologized to because a parent’s temper got the better of them during a discipline situation. Perhaps a phone call is necessary to re-establish a good relationship with an employee or neighbor. If we want to end the possible consequences of improper handling of anger, it should be dealt with as soon as possible.
Failing to address anger promptly often results in hostilities and feelings being bottled up. When one wakes up the next day, those emotions are strengthened and hardened in one’s mind. The longer they remain undealt with, the harder they will ever be to reconcile.
Unreconciled feelings often lead to hardened, unpliable hearts. A hardened heart leads to bitterness. Before long, one may develop a bitter spirit towards an individual or even a group of people, all because anger was never addressed and instead it festered and grew.
Often, the person may not even realize what has happened to him. Anger and bitterness can fester in a relationship all because one let a day go by without humbling oneself and getting a problem resolved before the sun went down.
Perhaps, many suns have set on your anger. The resulting bitterness has robbed you of the joy you once had.
Every time you see a certain person or hear his name, the old, unforgiven memories churn up, and you find yourself facing the same anger. It would have been much easier to remedy those feelings on the day it happened, but it is never too late to get your angry feelings right with another.
Yes, it may be the other person who did something terribly wrong. However, your anger has robbed you of your joy, and that sin may have kept you from having a closer walk and relationship with the Lord. Get hostilities and anger right today, before the sun goes down.
“A man that does not know how to be shaken to his heart’s core with indignation over things evil is either a fungus or a wicked man” — Beecher
When Anger Is Sinful
J. Beaumont, 1871
Anger is sin:
- When we are angry with the providence of God.
- When we are angry with the laws of God.
- When we are angry at the doctrines taught in the Word of God.
- When we are angry at the good we see in others.
- When we are angry with those who differ from us in religious sentiments.
- When we are angry at reproof.
- When we wish evil upon our reprover.
- When we use unlawful means to avenge ourselves.
“To be angry is often to revenge the fault of others upon ourselves.” — Antinomy
Uncontrolled Anger
Oliver B. Greene
Alexander the Great was one of the few men in history who truly deserved his descriptive title. He was energetic, versatile, and intelligent. Although hatred was not generally part of his nature, several times in his life, he was tragically defeated by anger.
The story is told of one of these occasions, when a dear friend of Alexander, a general in his army, became intoxicated and began to ridicule the emperor in front of his men. Blinded by anger and quick as lightning, Alexander snatched a spear from the hand of a soldier and hurled it at his friend. Although he had only intended to scare the drunken general, his aim was accurate, and the spear took the life of his childhood friend.
Deep remorse followed his anger. He was overcome with guilt, Alexander attempted to take his own life with the same spear, but he was stopped by his men. For days, he lay sick, calling for his friend and chiding himself as a murderer.
Alexander the Great conquered many cities and countries, but he had failed miserably to control his own spirit.
When Humor Helped Keep His Shirt On
Author Unknown
In early 1952, President Truman appointed Newbold Morris to investigate crime and its management in high government circles. Later that year, Morris was in the witness chair answering a barrage of pointed questions from the Senate subcommittee regarding the sale of some ships by his New York company.
The investigation was becoming hot and fierce. Morris’ face took on a look of pain, then of surprise, and then of anger. Amidst the excitement, he shouted as he reached into his coat and produced a sheet of white paper.
“Wait a minute. I have a note here from my wife. It says, ‘Keep your shirt on.’”
Everybody laughed, and the angry excitement died down, at least temporarily.
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
Yielding Personal “Rights”
Author Unknown
The public library had a system called “Dial-A-Tale.” Anytime a young child wanted to hear a fairy tale, they could call the number, and a voice would read a short fairy tale to the listening young ear. However, the number was only one digit different than Rev. Tom Erickson’s number.
Because the small fingers often made mistakes, Tom received frequent calls from a child wanting to hear a fairy tale.
After several unsuccessful attempts to explain a wrong number to the small child, Tom felt he had only one alternative. He obtained a copy of Three Little Pigs, and set it by the phone. Whenever a child called, he simply read him the tale. A beautiful illustration of yielding personal rights and avoiding anger.
He didn’t, as you might have thought, change his telephone number to avoid the “invasion of his privacy”, as some might have done.
“Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, and in the right way — that is not easy.” — Antinomy
Unhappy and Last Place
Author Unknown
A Do-it-yourself catalog firm received the following letter from one of its customers: “I built a birdhouse according to your stupid plans, and not only is it much too big, but it keeps blowing out of the tree. Signed, Unhappy.”
The firm replied: “Dear Unhappy, We’re sorry about the mix-up. We accidentally sent you a sailboat blueprint. But if you think you are unhappy, you should read the letter from the guy who came in last in the yacht club regatta.”