By Dr. Don Dunlap
Pastoral Counselor
Learn how God expects us to respond in the midst of life situations that arouse anger within us.
Family Counseling Ministries -
In the Bible, God addresses many specific arenas of a
Christians life, and He speaks clearly about the type of conduct that He
expects from His children. Our heavenly Father does not permit us to respond
angrily in any of the following circumstances:
1.
Our enemies: When we are tempted to give in to angry
outbursts toward our enemies we must remember Gods command to do kind deeds
for those people who persecute us. We should look for ways to meet our enemies
needs and we are to demonstrate Gods unconditional love toward them.
2.
Civil authorities: We ought to obey them and give to
them their due, unless their demands contradict Gods Word. Such a demand would
force us to sin, which we cannot do. Then we must obey the Lord, rather than
man and we must beseech God for the grace to bear whatever consequences our
authorities may require us to face.
3.
Unreasonable employer: Gods Word commands us to submit
to an employer, except when doing so would cause us to disobey Scripture. It is
never appropriate for a Christian to speak angrily or disloyally about his
supervisor, regardless of how harsh or unfair he or she may be.
4.
Trials and difficult circumstances: We must trust God
and be content. Our job is to cooperate with God and to respond joyfully as He
develops Christ-like character in our lives.
5.
Fellow Believers who are caught in sin: We are to speak
the truth in love to them, with the goal of restoring them. God explains that
we should rebuke them gently and not regard them as outcasts. We ought to plead
with them to repent and in a loving spirit, hold them accountable.
6.
Parents: Children must honor their parents as they
honor the Lord. As long as parents are in biblical authority over children,
children should respect and obey them in a manner that pleases God. It is
sinful and disrespectful for children to express angry attitudes toward
parents.
7.
Unjust treatment: We find favor with God when we bear
up under unjust treatment and patiently endure it without angrily murmuring or
complaining.
8.
Our children: God warns us not to provoke our children
to wrath. Parents must resist the temptation to rebuke them angrily when they
disobey. Instead, parents should nurture and train them in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord.
9.
Husbands and wives: Marriage partners are to submit to
one another and to love each other in a consistently biblical manner. We often
take the liberty to express anger and hostility toward our spouse. We punish
one another by pouting and withdrawing our affection from each other. We should
repent of such sinfully destructive behavior. We ought to take very soberly
Gods command in Ephesians 4, not to let the sun go down on our wrath.
10.
Biblically qualified church leaders: We should obey
them and trust their wisdom. If we esteem them highly in love, as Scripture
commands, we do not rail against them or act unbecomingly toward them when we
disagree with their leadership or their judgment. Instead we pray earnestly for
them as they lead us spiritually.
As we learn to respond properly in these specific scriptural
situations, we begin to grow in our ability to overcome sinful anger.
Dr. Don
Dunlap, a pioneer in the placement of Pastoral Counselors in the offices of
Christian physicians, has conducted over twenty thousand appointments during
his ministerial career. His counseling practice includes adults, children and
families in crisis. Dr. Dunlap is committed to facilitating a network of
telephone counselors. His goal is to provide help for the many people unable to
meet face to face with a competent Bible-based counselor. For a complete
library of Dr. Dunlaps articles, indexed by topic, go to Family Counseling Ministries. You
may also make an appointment for personal telephone counseling by clicking on Family Counseling Ministries.
Family Counseling Ministries is a Christianity.com
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