Getting Anger Under Control.
Overcoming Unresolved Resentment, Overwhelming Emotions, and the Lies Behind Anger
Book Reviewer: David Oletu
Have you been struggling with anger issues?
Neil and Rich leave us with the good news that we have no reason to be angry at ourselves or each other because Jesus has set us free from the control of anger.
Book Authors: Neil T. Anderson and Rich Miller
Book Reviewer: David Oletu
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, 2002
ISBN: 0736933042, 9780736933049
Length: 348 pages
Getting Anger Under Control.
Neil Anderson and Rich Miller’s ‘Getting Anger Under Control’ is quite controversial, challenging, and thought-provoking.
It makes us rethink deeply if we truly have justifiable reasons to get angry.
However, using different relatable scenarios, stories, and solid scriptural verses as reference points,
the authors did great justice in examining the phenomenon of anger, exposing its roots,
and providing a handle on how to allow Jesus to liberate us from its controlling influence.
A lot of circumstances make people angry at themselves or each other.
Those circumstances may include health issues, economic situations, people’s behaviours, etc.
Getting Anger Under Control.
In this book, the story of Jonah was used to illustrate how people’s moods are controlled based on circumstances.
Jonah was upset because the people of Nineveh had repented at his preaching,
and he knew that God was ‘slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and one who relents concerning calamity’ (Jonah 4:2).
Jonah wanted the city destroyed, but God seemed bent on sparing its residents if they would repent.
So, Jonah was angry.
He was angry at the Ninevites because of their evil deeds that warranted God’s judgment.
And He was unwilling to exercise grace and mercy towards them even if they repented,
and he was convinced that he had a right to be angry, even if it killed him.
The story of Jonah makes me wonder how the world would have been if men were gods.
But we thank God that God is God.
Getting Anger Under Control.
Jonah’s action and other actions related to it in society today make the author question why we are so angry,
and if we have good reason to be angry when such a trait isn’t part of the nature of our creator.
Is it truly human or normal for a believer to walk in anger and other works of the flesh after confessing and receiving the life of Christ?
Truly, the apostle Paul warned about the last days that difficult, terrible, and perilous times would come (2 Timothy 3:1)
and people would be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,
not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:2-4),
and indeed, we can see Paul’s warnings coming to play in society today.
Can we possibly say we are in the last days?
Those are circumstances that could trigger anger; however, are those enough reasons to justify the believers’ urge to walk in anger?
Getting Anger Under Control.
Having looked at the various circumstances that may prompt believers to be angry,
a lot of believers may claim that anger is inevitable and that, owing to our human nature, it is okay to get angry but not sin, according to Ephesians 4:26-27.
This makes me ponder again: if anger is listed as part of the works of the flesh, which is considered a sin that won’t help us inherit the kingdom of God,
how then can we possibly get angry and not sin?
The authors did not identify our circumstances as a root cause of anger
but revealed that the problem lies within the human heart, referring to Mark 7:14–15, 21–22, which states:
“When He (Jesus) had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them,
“Hear me, everyone, and understand;
there is nothing that enters a man from outside that can defile him, but the things that come out of him are the things that defile a man.
For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, and wickedness.”
Mark 7:14-15 KJV
[14] And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: [15] there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Anger, as well as other works of the flesh, is a result of the state of our heart, and until our heart is set right with God, we won’t overcome such a trait.
The authors claim that anger is a heart disease that can kill, and it is an epidemic that has also viciously infected the church.
Getting Anger Under Control.
Neil and Rich observe that the problem of bitterness and unforgiveness could very well be a rampant, debilitating problem in the body of Christ.
They also reveal that anger only poisons the soul and rots the culture, and the devil is delighted to see this, while the Holy Spirit of God is grieved to see us operate in such nature—the works of the flesh.
Neil and Rich firmly state that anger is our servant when we live a liberated life in Christ and that it is only the master of a defeated life.
If we desire to be angry and not sin, then we need to be like Christ and be angry at sin, including the sin of anger.
We should be angry at working in anger because it is not our nature as people who have received the life of Christ.
According to Thomas Secker, he who would be angry and not sin must not be angry at anything but sin.
The authors further admonish that we need to get beyond “anger management,”
which is merely a means of keeping one’s anger from erupting in behaviour destructive to oneself or others.
According to the authors, our goal should be to resolve the personal and spiritual issues behind the anger,
and discover the fruits of the spirit, which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,”
for those who are alive and free in Christ do not manage destructive behaviour; rather, they overcome it.
Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
Sounds good?
Perhaps too good to be true! But it is the truth, because it is God’s word, and God’s word stands sure forever in any circumstance!
Getting Anger Under Control.
Here are 10 takeaways from the book:
- Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
- Anger doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Anger, like all of our emotions, is primarily a product of our thought life.
- If what we believe does not conform to the truth (God’s word), then what we feel does not conform to reality.
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The brain cannot function any other way than in the way it has been programmed by the mind. That is why we are transformed by the renewal of our minds.
- How our minds have been programmed is revealed by our belief system, which reflects our values and attitudes about life.
- There are no goals for our lives that can be blocked or be uncertain or impossible if they are given to us by God. With God, all things are possible.
- A godly goal is any specific orientation that reflects God’s purpose for our lives and is not dependent on people or circumstances beyond our right or ability to control.
- We have a choice. We can respond according to our old flesh patterns by having an outburst of anger, or we can respond by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Instead of getting depressed when a goal seems impossible, we can have the joy of the Lord.
Instead of getting anxious when a goal appears to be uncertain, we can have the peace of God that passes all understanding.
And instead of anger, we can learn to be patient with people and grow through testing and trials of life.
- There is no crisis in life that we cannot grow through.
Have you been struggling with anger issues?
Neil and Rich leave us with the good news that we have no reason to be angry at ourselves or each other,
because Jesus has set us free from the control of anger.
He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
And He has promised us peace, but it’s not like the peace the world gives—based on peaceful circumstances (John 14:27).
It is peace of mind and heart running so deep and strong that it goes beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).
And glory to God, those who believe in God and His word now have that peace through the Holy Spirit that lives in them.
Do you believe?
If you do, then according to Neil and Rich’s ‘Getting Anger Under Control’ you will surely overcome anger if you walk according to God’s word.
Getting Anger Under Control.
Also Read: Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone – Diademng (thediademng.org)
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