Anger has multiple impacts on our lives. Obviously, we know that if we spend all our time being angry, there will be mental and psychological effects, but anger actually goes far beyond that. People who are constantly angry suffer from a variety of physical ailments including headaches, stomach issues, high blood pressure, and much more. Even more importantly, living a life of constant anger will impact you spiritually.
While God wired us with the ability to become angry, it doesn’t mean that He wants us to walk around in a state of constant anger. Instead, our anger is supposed to be in the face of injustices or when something sparks a “righteous anger” within us. David was angry when he heard the blasphemies that Goliath was spewing from the other side of the battlefield. Jesus was angry when He walked into the temple and realized that people had turned it into a business. Those are examples of righteous anger.
Unfortunately, we often allow anger to creep into our spiritual lives at times where it’s not righteous. If you live life in a constant state of anger, you cannot show people the love of God. We will discuss the Scriptural truth behind this idea in a moment, but it’s worth mentioning here, as well. People don’t want to approach people who are always angry, which means that anger also impacts the relationships that we have with other people. If you come across as unapproachable, it becomes nearly impossible for you to fulfill your role in God’s Kingdom.
Anger in itself isn’t wrong, but there are certainly consequences to living an angry life. Since the Bible is filled with real stories about real people and was written by real people, we can understand that they experienced anger. We can look at the things Scripture says about anger to gain a better understanding of its consequences in our lives.
Problems at Work
Proverbs 15:18 (TPT)
A touchy, hot-tempered man picks a fight, but the calm, patient man knows how to silence strife.
Since we’re looking at some practical ways that anger can negatively impact your life, it’s a good idea to start with where we spend most of our waking hours: work. If you have a fulltime job, you probably spend around 40 or more hours a week with coworkers. Even if you work from home, there are online meetings, video calls, and other times where you must interact with coworkers. If you’re angry all the time, those interactions will probably be unproductive, and could easily land you in trouble with your supervisor.
Additionally, people who study human behavior have noted some behaviors in angry people that don’t bode well for their professional lives. Those experts report that people who are “perpetually angry” are routinely tardy because they look for ways to control situations. They also exhibit obstructive behavior when working in group settings, they are cynical, they belittle coworkers, and often are so resentful about their jobs that they perform poorly in their assigned duties.
Anger may start as an emotion, but it can quickly become a way of life. If left unchecked, that anger could lead to major problems in the workplace. That’s why Solomon extolled the characteristics of a patient person who knows how to silence strife.
Trying to Sleep Angry
Ephesians 4:26 (ESV)
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.
Did you catch the first part of that verse? “Be angry.” Paul acknowledged that there are times where people are going to get angry. Again, God put every emotion that you feel in you, including anger. A lot of people believe that Christians are called to be constantly smiling, happy people who never exhibit any negative emotions. That’s not the case. Instead, Paul said that we can be angry, but we shouldn’t let that anger cause us to sin. He went on to say that we shouldn’t let the sun go down while we’re angry.
People who are constantly angry are obviously lacking a certain level of inner peace. Even if their anger is based on a certain situation or is aimed at another person, that level of anger can invade every area of their lives, primarily their minds.
When you lay down to sleep at night, it’s much easier to do so when you can get your mind to calm down. When your mind is racing in different directions, it’s harder to sleep. Even if you doze off, it’s hard to reach REM sleep, which is the deepest stage of the sleep cycle.
We don’t know if Paul was referencing getting quality sleep when he wrote these words, but we do know that being habitually angry can make it hard to get a good night’s sleep. Instead of going to bed angry, try to clear up the issues causing your anger taken care of before you close your eyes tonight.
Anger and Your Mind
Proverbs 23:7 (TPT)
For as he thinks within himself, so is he. He will grudgingly say, “Go ahead and eat all you want,” but in his heart he resents the fact that he has to pay for your meal.
Anger also changes the way that you think, which dictates everything about your life. Solomon wrote that a person is what he or she thinks about. When your thoughts are always pointed towards anger, you’re probably going to be an angry person.
Spend some time refocusing your thoughts if you feel like you are perpetually angry. There are probably plenty of things in your life that don’t cause anger, but it’s easy to focus on the things that do. When you feel like you’re constantly angry and agitated, try to take a moment and evaluate your thoughts. Instead of focusing heavily on the sources of anger, spend some time looking at the things that bring you joy.
It’s Hard to Live Angry and Live Holy
James 1:19-20 (TPT)
My dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen, but slow to speak. And be slow to become angry, for human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose.
As a child of God, your top priority should always be to serve as a living display of God’s righteousness. It’s hard to do that when you’re always angry. Notice James also didn’t tell us to never become angry. However, he did say that we should be “slow to anger.” That means that anger shouldn’t be our default emotion. When something doesn’t go according to plan, immediately lashing out in anger is not a display of God’s righteousness.
We want to live out God’s purpose for our lives. Doing so is one of the most exciting things that you can do as a Christian. While God has individualized purposes for His people, He also has general purposes for all of us, and that includes living righteously so we can share His truth with others.
There is no way to escape being angry at times, and there is nothing in Scripture that says that you should. However, if your “default emotion” is anger, today is a good day to let the Holy Spirit begin to make a change in you.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to do a better job of controlling my anger. Moreover, help me to not let anger be the predominant emotion in my life. Instead, I want to have healthy relationships, be a productive employee, and rest well at night. Most of all, I want to be a living display of your grace, love, and righteousness. In Christ’s name, Amen.