Living By Faith Blog

How to Get Rid of Anger

Last night in our home group someone shared that he had become angry at work.

He had come up with a great idea that would benefit both the company and his career, but someone in management was stubbornly saying No.

As a result, he was feeling angry, bitter, and resentful.

So what are we supposed to do when we are filled with anger?

Put Away Anger

In Colossians 3:8 Paul calls us to “put away…anger,” which means we should stop being angry.

But that’s not easy, because anger is a strong, passionate feeling.  And we can’t change feelings with just our will-power.

But Paul does call us to put away our anger.  So how can we do that?

To answer this let’s look more closely at Colossians 3.

Looking More Closely

To understand how to obey v.8, we need to see how v.8 follows from the previous verses.

Notice that Paul starts by calling us to seek Christ and set our minds on him (Colossians 3:1-2).

Then Paul gives us a reason which helps us do this.  It’s because Christ is our life.  The joy we seek is only found in Him (Colossians 3:3-4).

Then, notice that v.5 has the word “therefore” (Colossians 3:5).  So Paul is saying that because Christ is our life (vv.3-4) therefore we can obey the following commands, like the command to put away anger (vv.5-8).

So it’s by seeing that Christ alone is our life (Colossians 3:5) that we will be able to put away anger (Colossians 3:8).

But how does that work in real life?

How This Works

Let’s say you are angry because someone else got the promotion you wanted.

You had been seeking this promotion, because it would give you more life – more importance, more money, more power.

But you just got an email saying that someone else got the promotion, which means you won’t get the life you wanted.  You won’t get the importance, the money, and the power.  And so you are angry, bitter, and resentful.

But think of how your feelings would change if, right after receiving that email, the CEO walks into your office and explains that you didn’t get that promotion because he was retiring and wanted you to become CEO.

Whoa.  You are going to be the CEO.

So think about your feelings at that moment.

Would you still be angry?  Not at all.

Your anger would have disappeared, and been replaced with joy, because the CEO position will  give you far more life than the promotion you didn’t get.

Christ Is Our Life

That’s how it works with Christ.

Whenever we are angry it’s because we have lost something we were relying on to give us life.

But the good news is that Jesus Christ gives us far more life than whatever we have lost.

Jesus gives us more life and joy and meaning than anything else in the world.

But if that’s true, why do we get angry?  Why was our home group brother angry?

Why Are We Angry?

That’s what we discussed at our home group.

We talked about how, whenever we are angry, it’s because at that moment we are not seeing and feeling the truth that Christ is our all-satisfying life.

When we are angry, it’s because we are seeing something else, something we have lost, as our life.

Our brother agreed and said “That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Then we shared with him some of the ways Christ is his life —

• Christ has forgiven all his sins through the Cross (1 John 1:9).
• Christ has a beautiful future for him full of joy in His presence (Jeremiah 29:11-12).
• Christ will provide whatever money he needs in order to have the greatest joy in Him (Philippians 4:19).

Then we laid hands on him, and asked the Father to make these truths real in his heart.

When we finished praying, it was clear that God worked.

There were tears in our brother’s eyes.  He was seeing Jesus.

And his anger was gone.

Questions?  Comments?

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And here are some related posts you might find helpful –

• What Does The Bible Say About Anger?
• A Christian And Anger: How To Overcome It
• What Causes Conflicts? (It’s Not What We Think)
• How Jesus Enables us to Forgive

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