My dear readers,

Peacemaker OR Anger-maker?

Proverbs 15:18: “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.”

The devil’s goal has always been to destroy the work of Christ. He tries to achieve it by destroying the work of His disciples. He does so through wrong teachings, or seduction via the lusts of the flesh, or the lure of fame and fortune via the lusts of the eyes, or carnal praises of men via the pride of life. He does all these through his own diabolical followers and using the attractions of this sin-filled world. But arguably the most effective of all is to use God’s own children to sow seeds of discord so as to destroy the unity of the brethren.

Two believers or bosom friends or best of friends can become mortal enemies because of someone who whispered lies. Perhaps that was why David shared the rare preciousness of brotherly love in Psalm 133:1-3: “A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” It is rare and life-giving to experience true unity that is sincere and sacrificial in an evil self-centred world where every man cares for himself first. David experienced this in Israel.

God’s people today experience this rare precious unity in God’s church. With unity prevailing in the church much can be done for the Lord. The church becomes a haven of rest and spiritual respite for God’s people to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christian fellowship, worship of God, evangelism and all spiritual endeavours will thrive in an environment of peace and Christ-centred unity. But the opposite is also true when disunity or strife prevails in the church. All the blessings evaporate and are replaced by a tension that even new visitors can feel. The work of the Lord is retarded and evangelism can literally die, for no one would invite friends or unbelievers to a church that is fighting within. This is the work of the devil. Proverbs 15:18 warns every believer of such a dire eventuality if their anger is not under control.

Anger Stirs Up Strife – The church is a place where everyone soon knows everyone. This is the nature of church life where lives intertwine. The bonds they build can be a double edged sword. They can enhance Christian fellowship or destroy it. When an angry person is part of such a mix the consequences of his anger will spread like wild uncontrollable fire. His anger at one person will spread to others. Within a short time two camps are formed. Peace and harmony in the church are drastically affected, and sometimes beyond repair, and families might end up leaving the church.

Proverbs 15:17a calls this man “a wrathful man.” He stirs up strife when strife is not found. Anger in itself is not a sinful emotion. The Bible says that God is angry when He finds sin in the lives of His people. For example, when Israel made the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai after saying that they would not do so, God was very angry with Israel. Exodus 32:9-10: “And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” God also teaches His children to control their anger so that they would not sin in anger. They have the right to be angry at a just cause but not use that as an excuse to sin. Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

But this wrathful man is not only an angry person, he spreads his anger around. He does things that will make others angry especially with another person. This can be done through lies or gossip. Backbiting and character assassination is a most effective way and oft used by angry people. A wrathful man could have been disciplined in the church and so attacks the leaders who disciplined him. This is a common occurrence nowadays. Two members in the church quarrel and both “share” their grievances with their respective friends and often they do not share a complete picture whereby their wrong-doing is conveniently left out. Painting a false picture resulting in strife is usually the work of the devil. Do these “members” know that they are doing the work of the devil when they stir up strife? The one who is wrathful has sinned. Not only does he hurt himself, he also hurts the person who receives his lies and lastly he hurts the person he lied about. This is what the devil has been doing since his fallen existence!

Peace Settles Strife – The only solution to stop this sin and evil is peace. When peace prevails it calms the angry person. Strife will not be allowed to rear its ugly serpentine head! Every child of God can have this emotion of anger under control. Even though anger is not a bad emotion as it was given to man when God made him in His image, it can be perceived as sinful since most of the time anger is visible. This ought not to be the case for the child of God. He has the power and strength from His Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to control all his emotions including anger. He is now slow to anger. It means that many things which used to stir his anger will no longer have that hold over him. For example, a driver’s rage has become the bane of many bad accidents. The child of God in Christ is now able to control his anger on the roads regardless of how other drivers might irritate him because of their errant and inconsiderate driving.

There is stillness in his soul that was not there before salvation. The Holy Spirit speaks to him in His still small voice calming his spirit. This is also true when an angry person rages in his face. He is calm and collected and will even apologize sincerely and immediately to calm the angry person, thus not adding fuel to fan his flaming anger. Remember Proverbs 15:1: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” 

“Firmin Abautiz, who lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years, was a person of such a serene disposition that he was not known to have been out of temper during the whole of his long life. Some persons, doubting the possibility of such a meek disposition, applied to a female who had kept his house for thirty years, to try to provoke him, on the promise of money if she succeeded. Knowing that her master was very fond of having his bed comfortably made, she neglected it. Next morning, Abautiz reminded her of the neglect. She said she had forgotten it; and nothing more was said. The ensuing night, the bed was again unmade; and the woman, being reminded of it, made some frivolous excuse. At length, on the third morning, her master said, "You have not yet made my bed: it is evident you are determined to do it. Well, I suppose you find the job troublesome; but it is of little consequence, for I begin to be used to it already." Moved by such kindness and goodness of temper, the servant discontinued the experiment she had been prevailed upon to make and was again forgiven.” [Source: “Encyclopaedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times”]

Food for Thought – Should a believer do the work of the devil?