God's Advice on Anger
Most of us know the story of Cain and Abel so well that we miss some of the details that are important. Remember, before anything bad happened, God spoke to Cain and told him what to do about his anger.(Genesis 4:6.7) I believe we all need to understand this advice.
God asked Cain, "Why are you angry?" There is always a reason, but often, we think that anger just happens, and it is OK, because we can't stop it from coming. That is wrong. If we stop to think about why we are angry, most of the time, we can keep from getting angry next time. If it is not an anger toward sin, but toward a person, God wants us to put it away as soon as possible.(Ephesians 4:26,31,32) Cain was angry because he and his offering were not accepted. We all want to be accepted. When we are rejected we can get angry, or we can stop to consider why we were rejected and correct it. That is what God told Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted?"
However, Cain had not considered why he was angry, and the anger led to a change in attitude and mood. God told him that if he did not repent of his reasons for not being accepted and do well, that sin was lying at the door of his life. In other words, if Cain let the sin progress, it would lead him to take wrong actions, which is what happened when he killed his brother. God told him how to keep that from happening, "You should rule over it." Every one of us has the ability to turn away from sin and to do the right thing by following what we know is right in our hearts and from the Spirit of God speaking to us. If we ignore God's advice on anger, it will progress to resentment and bitterness, which will ruin our lives. It will make our hearts hard toward God and others. We see that when Cain asked God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" His attitude toward his brother was one of contempt, and he had no remorse for what he had done.
We need to listen to God's advice every time. He will make it clear to us what we need to do. We have to choose to do the right thing and rule over sin by God's power. Then, our relationship with God and our relationships with others will be better and better, instead of worse and worse.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 7-10.
God asked Cain, "Why are you angry?" There is always a reason, but often, we think that anger just happens, and it is OK, because we can't stop it from coming. That is wrong. If we stop to think about why we are angry, most of the time, we can keep from getting angry next time. If it is not an anger toward sin, but toward a person, God wants us to put it away as soon as possible.(Ephesians 4:26,31,32) Cain was angry because he and his offering were not accepted. We all want to be accepted. When we are rejected we can get angry, or we can stop to consider why we were rejected and correct it. That is what God told Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted?"
However, Cain had not considered why he was angry, and the anger led to a change in attitude and mood. God told him that if he did not repent of his reasons for not being accepted and do well, that sin was lying at the door of his life. In other words, if Cain let the sin progress, it would lead him to take wrong actions, which is what happened when he killed his brother. God told him how to keep that from happening, "You should rule over it." Every one of us has the ability to turn away from sin and to do the right thing by following what we know is right in our hearts and from the Spirit of God speaking to us. If we ignore God's advice on anger, it will progress to resentment and bitterness, which will ruin our lives. It will make our hearts hard toward God and others. We see that when Cain asked God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" His attitude toward his brother was one of contempt, and he had no remorse for what he had done.
We need to listen to God's advice every time. He will make it clear to us what we need to do. We have to choose to do the right thing and rule over sin by God's power. Then, our relationship with God and our relationships with others will be better and better, instead of worse and worse.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 7-10.