Forget Anger – Genesis 4:2-8

I have a confession to make.  It’s not so much of a sin as it is something that might make me look bad.  My confession is that I talk back to my TV…a lot.  It doesn’t happen so much when I’m watching a movie.  I don’t usually try to tell the actors, “Don’t go in there!” or anything like that.  I do most of my talking to the news.  It starts out with my critiquing what the newscasters are wearing.  You know, because I’m so qualified to do that.

“Really Mark?  A paisley tie with a striped shirt?  C,mon man, you’re better than that.”  Or, “Sandra, your husband lied to you this morning because that dress really does make you look fat.”  Is that wrong of me?  I asked a male reporter the other day, “Did a wild animal gnaw on your eyebrows?  What’s going on up there?”  I tell reporters all the time, “Oh, no!  HD is not your friend.”

Am I the only one?  Should I feel bad?  Maybe I need to repent.  I don’t know.  But what really gets me going is when I hear something that makes me mad.  The other day I heard a congresswoman saying how her conscience wouldn’t let her go to the Trump inauguration.  Now I’m standing up yelling at the TV, “What’s that gonna prove?  What are you trying to accomplish by disrespecting the president?  What have you done lately, ya bozo?”  Made me so mad.

Tell me I’m not the only one that does that.  Do you think I need anger management?  Some of you might think I need therapy because I talk to the TV but do you think my anger is a problem?  Am I sinning?  To tell you the truth, I’ll holler and rant at the TV and then I’m done.  It’s out of my system and I don’t think much about it anymore.

The same day I saw that congresswoman interviewed, I went later that evening to my parents’ house and a bunch of family was there and somebody said, “Can you believe these people who are boycotting the inauguration?”  I said, “I know.  So immature.”  And that was all I said.  I wasn’t mad.  I had screamed at the TV that morning but by then I felt fine.

So, how do we know when we have an anger problem?  I don’t think I do.  But how do we know and who decides?  Is anger a sin?  No.  Can it lead to sin?  Yes, easily.  So, when does that happen and how do we keep it from happening?  Should we ever get mad or should we always be calm and mellow?  Is it ever appropriate?  Does God get mad?  Is He mad now?

I have a lot of questions, don’t I?  Does that make you mad?  Well, anger is definitely a problem for a lot of people, even Christians, so we are going to look at a passage today that will help answer a lot of those questions.  Because it’s a problem and because at Christ Fellowship we are looking to start off our 2017 by forgetting the former things, right?  Do you remember where that passage is found?  Isaiah 43:18-19 tell us that.  It says,

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”

If God is going to provide for us as He takes us through the wilderness and into the wasteland then we better not be holding on to those things that would hinder that journey, right?  We talked about forgiveness recently and we know that the Bible teaches that not to forgive someone who has hurt you is sin and sin puts a barrier between us and God.  Somebody called it a blessing-blocker and that is just what sin is.  It blocks us from all the ways God wants to protect and provide for us so let’s forget them and don’t dwell on the things of the past.  God is doing a new thing.  Do you not perceive it?

Anger, in and of itself is not sinful but it easily leads to sin so let’s turn to the very first book of the Bible and see what God tells us about anger and how to manage it; how to keep it from becoming sin and the consequences of it when it does.

Genesis 4 raises a lot of questions for a lot of people but this is just another example of the Bible telling us what we need to know and not telling us what we don’t need to know.  I believe we have a real responsibility to find out exactly what scripture is saying and what it means for us today but that does not mean that we can or should “fill in the gaps” or “read between the lines” of scripture.

We may use the Old Testament to help understand the New Testament and vice versa but if the Bible doesn’t answer your question, it’s probably not a good question.  Genesis 4 introduces Adam and Eve’s two sons, Cain and Abel, and the first thing some people try to figure out is how many kids Adam and Eve had; where did they live and what did they look like?  It doesn’t matter if they were green and had bananas growing out of their ears.  I want to know what God says about anger so let’s read Genesis 4:2-8.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.  ⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  ⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.


Now, as much as we would like to make this about cowboys versus farmers or say that this proves that even God doesn’t like vegetables, it is not about that.  We don’t know exactly why God approved of Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s.  It is not in here.  We are told in Hebrews 11:4 that by faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  That’s all we know and that’s okay.  That’s not the point. 


The point is that Cain was angry about it.  The original Hebrew word is charah and it means to glow or grow hot; to blaze up.  Cain was burning mad that God showed favor to Abel and not him.  I read that men with anger issues often describe their anger as a fire or flood raging inside them whereas women describe it more often as slowly building.


The physical problems associated with anger issues are almost unbelievable.  Anger leads to higher blood pressure and cholesterol.  It causes heart problems, liver and kidney damage.  It can lead to anxiety and depression.  Some scientists think that chronic anger may be more dangerous than smoking and obesity as a factor that will contribute to early death. (Jeff Yalden)


Yet, I am here to tell you we have a much greater concern with the issue of anger than physical death and that is spiritual death, the death of your walk with the Lord and the death of your witness to anybody else because nothing in this world screams, “I’m an unbelieving, atheistic, non-Christian, no-faith-having, worldly fool” like uncontrolled anger.


You can go to church all the time and have lots of scripture memorized and have a passion for Jesus and other people.  You can minister to the poor, addicted and incarcerated.  You can tithe and sing solos and teach Sunday School and you will still be this church’s greatest enemy if you can’t control the anger in your life.


Cain was already feeling the effects of anger in verse 6.  God asks him why his face is downcast.  He is angry and sad.  It probably stems from jealousy.  There may be low self-esteem issues.  I’m sure there are control issues here but it all manifests itself as anger and God, Who not only sees the heart, sees it on his face.  Then God asks Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”

That word “accepted’ here originally means to be lifted up and it is directed specifically toward Cain’s face that was hanging down but it means to be happy.  “Cain, if you do what is right, you will be happy.”  Then God goes on to say, “But if you continue on this path and you don’t do what is right, sin is waiting to pounce on you like a lion to eat you up.”


Then God ends with, “But you must master it.”  To anybody with anger issues, God is saying the same thing today.  You MUST master it.  My dear family, if you are going to live the full and abundant life that Jesus talks about wanting for you in John 10:10, you MUST master this problem.  I’ll be honest with you.  If this church is going to survive and thrive and go, do and be what God has called us to, then we must forget the former things like unforgiveness and anger.  We MUST!


The first issue with anger is admitting you have a problem with it.  We all know of people with anger issues and so many of them, if you were to ask them, would deny they have a problem.  Or, if they do admit it, they don’t want to change.  I hear people say all the time, “Yes, I’m hot-tempered but that’s just who I am.  That’s the way I’ve always been and that’s how my daddy and grand-daddy were so that’s how I am and if you don’t like it, stay away from me.”


One woman told her pastor basically that and said, “I just pop off sometimes.  I can’t help it.”  The pastor said, “Yes, you pop off like a shotgun and everybody around you gets hit with the blast.  You MUST master it!”


Tonight at 6 pm we are going to look at some more specific ways to cool off when we feel the temperature of anger rising up in us but this morning let me give you some biblical advice on how to master the problem of anger.  It’s difficult, no doubt, and won’t happen overnight but if you sincerely pray and ask God for help with it, soon you can add anger to the list of things you have forgotten in 2017.


Almost all sin and most certainly anger stems from a root of pride.  We get our feelings hurt.  Somebody is not being sensitive to our needs and that makes us mad.  Pride will mess you up in all kinds of ways.  Proverbs 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”  That’s not just talking about an unbeliever.  A proud Christian will not be thinking about God.  They are thinking of themselves.  When you are thinking of yourself, it’s easier to get mad.  1 John 1:9 says to confess your sins – including and especially the sin of pride – and God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.


Something else the Bible teaches about handling the problem of anger is to see that God is allowing certain situations in your life for a reason.  I love the verse in Genesis 50 (20) where Joseph sees his brothers who had years ago tried to kill him and he tells them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

God is sovereign over every circumstance and person that crosses our path. Nothing happens to us that He does not cause or allow. Though God does allow bad things to happen, He is always faithful to redeem them for the good of His people. (www.gotquestions.org/anger)


James 1:2 says to “Consider it all pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  I told you it was difficult but we MUST master it.



Another piece of biblical advice on how to control anger and not let it control you is to know, understand and accept that, in His sovereignty, and because He loves you and is in control, God will repay those who hurt His children.  Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” That sounds pretty good, right?

But it also leads us to the last bit of advice for this morning and that is found in the very next verse where it says, “^On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”


Some of you know that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him your friend.  Fight anger with love even when you don’t feel like it.  You have heard the phrase, “Living well is the best revenge.”  That’s not true.  Living right; living merciful; living generously, living forgiving – living loving is the best way to get revenge because it’s not revenge at all.  Revenge is unnecessary when you live biblically.


I saw a cartoon the other day that showed an older couple sitting together on the couch.  The old man says, “In all these years together you never got mad at me.  How did you do it?”  The old woman says, “Oh, I got mad at you plenty of times.”  He said, “You never showed it.  How did you handle it?”  She said, “I just cleaned the bathroom.”  “Cleaned the bathroom?  How did that help?”  She said, “I used your toothbrush.”


We MUST master this issue of anger but it’s not easy.  None of this is easy.  In fact, it’s impossible, isn’t it?  With God all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26)  But it takes more than just a prayer to ask Him for help.  It takes a relationship; a relationship that lasts a lifetime; a lifetime of walking with Him and talking with Him and finding out what pleases Him.  Once a week church doesn’t cut it, that’s for sure.  In the song, He Walks With Me, it says,


And He walks with me and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known


Do you have that joy?  Do you have peace in your life?  Would you like to?  Admit you are a sinner.  Admit it to God right now in prayer as we close our eyes and bow our heads.  Admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive you of your sin, including the sin of pride and of all the sins that anger leads to.


In John 14:6, Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.  Believe that today and ask Jesus to come into your life to change it, take away what needs to go and bring in what you do need.


Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Do that today.  Accept Him and the peace and joy that comes with Him and become a child of God and co-heir with Jesus to all the good things Heaven has to offer.  It’s the only way.