Bible Verses about Anger: Dealing with Anger the Godly Way

Anger is a complex human emotion. It is as normal as laughing or crying, yet its effects, although potentially beneficial, can be quite damaging. Anger normally arises from provocation, frustrations, and other triggers like stress, mental health issues, or environmental influences. When anger is expressed constructively and with control, solutions to conflicts can be found, wrongs can be made right, and healthy boundaries set.

On the other hand, uncontrolled anger may lead to negative outcomes such as depression, anxiety, severed relationships, extreme violence, and harmful behavior. People express their anger in varying degrees, some to the point of physically harming others or cutting ties with loved ones.

Is anger ever justified?

Before we explore ways of dealing with anger, let us first consider if it is even acceptable for us as Christians to be angry. In the book of John (2:13-17), we witness Jesus Christ, the epitome of love, compassion, patience, and grace, getting extremely angry because the money changers and merchants had turned the temple courts into a marketplace. In His anger, the Bible says Jesus overturned tables and chased the transgressors from the temples because they had brought chaos into the house of God.

In Nehemiah 5:6, we hear Nehemiah, another great biblical figure, admitting to being “very angry” when he learned of the exploitation and oppression of the poor. Some of the poor people were even forced by their circumstances to sell their children to pay exorbitant taxes.

The rest of the book shows how Nehemiah proceeded to boldly confront the nobles and the officials. He rebuked them for the oppression of the poor Jews and demanded that they put an end to it. They listened to Nehemiah and agreed to put an end to the oppressive practices. Nehemiah’s anger was the much-needed catalyst that helped bring respite to the people.

In Exodus 32, we hear the account of Moses coming down from his meeting with God on Mount Sinai, only to see the Israelites worshiping a golden calf that they had carved for themselves.

When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it. – Exodus 32:19-20, NIV

These few examples of great men in the Bible show that anger is normal. In fact, this type of anger is described by some as righteous anger. This type of anger is, however, justified, and different from how most of us experience anger.

Righteous anger does not arise out of bitterness, a need for revenge, or any other selfish reasons. It is rather a response to the clear disregard of God’s will and the violation of that which is holy. The Bible recognizes anger as a normal emotion, it is its roots and its response that make the difference. Let’s explore some Bible verses about anger and learn how the Scriptures command us to deal with this complex emotion.

Bible verses about anger

In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. – Ephesians 4:26-27, NIV

While this verse acknowledges that it is normal to feel angry, it focuses on instructing us how not to behave in our anger. By telling us to not let the sun go down while we are angry, we are reminded that we need not dwell on our anger because it drains us and makes us vulnerable to sin. That is precisely how the devil takes advantage of us because an angry person barely thinks straight and may be easily led into sinful behavior.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil. – Psalm 37:8, NIV

This verse also serves to highlight the dangers of anger and discourages us from dwelling on the feelings of anger. Anger has a tendency to fester and the more we dwell on it, the more likely we are to be led down an ugly and dark path of unforgiveness and other sinful behavior.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. – James 1:19-20, NIV

Most of the conflicts that we have with other people are rooted in our communication skills or lack thereof. Through this verse, we are taught the basics of communication which is to listen first and consider the other person’s opinion or viewpoint before responding.

Listening gives us time to understand where the other person is coming from and to weigh our own opinions and responses before saying them aloud. However, if we are in the habit of just waiting for the other person to stop talking so we can add our words, rather than truly listening to understand, the situation can easily escalate. Nothing good comes out of that.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. – Proverbs 15:1-2, NIV

Pride often makes conflict worse and sometimes leads us to want to say or do things that hurt the other party. This verse shows us how foolish that is. Instead of exacerbating the situation by responding to a conflict situation harshly, we are being taught how to respond wisely and gently.

Exercising wisdom in a conflict includes knowing that you gain nothing by resorting to pride, harsh and ugly words, or deeds. Responding gently to someone who is being harsh will most likely disarm that person and de-escalate the situation. This creates room to find more amicable ways of conflict resolution.

Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. – Proverbs 12:16, NIV

The book of Proverbs focuses on imparting wisdom and instructing us as believers on how to make wise decisions in our day-to-day lives to live righteously. This particular verse speaks to the skill of self-restraint. We are taught that not every insult or provocation deserves our response.

People and situations will, at times, try us, but we have the power to choose how to respond to such trials. According to this verse, sometimes ignoring potential conflict situations can be the best choice that we could ever make. Proverbs 16:32 (NIV) also confirms this by saying, “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.”

Self-control is being shown as a sign of strength and not as a weakness, as the world would want us to believe. At times people deliberately provoke us to start fights and conflict. At other times we are justified in our anger. However, failure to exercise self-restraint leads us straight into the enemy’s trap. We will live in a constant state of anger which is against God’s will for our lives.

Struggling with anger issues?

Do you feel that while anger is a normal emotion, you get angry quickly? Do you fail to control your anger and find yourself having to deal with or live with the negative effects? You don’t have to deal with this alone. Call us today to book an appointment with one of the counselors at our offices. They will help you dig toward the roots of the issue and empower you to forgive.