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We are taking a break for the summer until futher notice.

Week 3 - Day 2

Read James 1:19-20. We looked in detail at the first two of the three commands in James 1:19 yesterday.

1. What is the third command? Why are we to do this according to James 1:20?

2. Prov. 17:27 deals with the relationship between anger and words. Explain it in your own words. You may want to read it in several translations. (An easy way to do that is to go to bible.org and put Proverbs 17 in the box in the upper left side. When the chapter comes up, click on the verse number. A number of translations of that verse will come up.)

Moo explains the meaning of God’s righteousness in the context of James 1:20: “We are on firmer ground in thinking that James uses the phrase ‘produce righteousness’ with the meaning it normally has in the Bible: do what God requires of his people. . . . James’s very simple point is that human anger does not produce behavior that is pleasing to God.”

3. Read these cross-references on anger and write down your insights:
a. Ecc. 7:9
b. Prov. 16:32
c. Prov. 29:22

Hiebert helps us understand anger:

Human anger is an instinctive reaction against that which is evil and injurious. The feeling of anger is not always wrong (cf. Mark 3:5). The individual who is never aroused and deeply stirred at evil is gravely deficient in moral character. James’ words do not forbid all anger, but this instinctive feeling needs careful control lest it blaze forth in unjustified and injurious reactions. The attitude of Scripture is consistently negative toward the indulgence in human wrath.

4. Read Eph. 4:25-27. What are the boundaries given here for righteous anger? From Hiebert’s comments above, how would you describe righteous anger in contrast with most of our anger?

Stronger Jeans (optional): Find other cross-references on anger or wrath. Write down any additional insights that you gain. (You can pull up all cross-references that use a particular English word from the NET Bible at bible.org. Go to the reference—in this case James 1:20. Highlight the word that you want to reference and it will take you to other verses that use that word.)

5. Sharing Question: Share with your group the story of a time when your anger did not accomplish God’s righteousness or when justified anger turned into sinful anger because your behavior did not reflect God or perhaps because you let it simmer!

6. Responding to God: Are you angry with someone right now? Is there a person who seems to anger you every time you interact with her/him? Is it all about you or is there really a righteous anger involved? Talk to God about becoming a person who reflects His forgiveness and patience even when there is justification. Write down your response to Him.

5 comments:

Christina Ketchum said...

I don't get angry easily but when I do it usually stems from my feelings getting hurt by another person. I normally don't lash back in anger but I become very anxious wondering why the person would hurt me; do they not like me or respect me?!?! It has taken me a LONG time but now I try to just LET IT GO!!! This is SO not easy but it helps when I pray. I also allow myself to vent my anger to a trusted friend, my twin.

Anonymous said...

There is one person in my family that always seems to upset me. I don't know if she means to but it seems that she says things that she knows will hurt. That is when I get angry and usually not speak to her. Ephesians is so right when it says don't let the sun go down while you are angry. I have and instead of talking to her about it, I have all these hurts inside building up. I am praying that the Lord will give me courage to talk to her the next time she says something or help me not be angry at her and let it go.

Anonymous said...

Anger has been an easy reaction for me. I'm still working on it and I'm just thankful that I can really call unto God.

DA Wagners said...

I've gotten angry in the past for injustice done to me and have acted on it. But, I have found that God is a better judge than I and will always bring things to correction for us. I've also found that there are A LOT of angry and hurt people out there; and when I fight them on that level, nothing good comes of it. It's better to leave their anger at the cross and love them despite it. They're not really angry at me; they're angry at life.

Sohl Gal said...

I think one of the hardest and yet most important things to do is to let the anger go. Then, when I look back, most of the issues I'd have really been upset over were really nothing to be upset about. The things that I'm still upset about, righteous anger, should reflect Matthew 18:15-17.