The danger of anger

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” - Matthew 5v21-24

Jesus was accused by some of trying to destroy the Law. In actuality nothing could have been further from the truth. In this section He explains what it means to fulfil, or complete the Law. The first thing He deals with is anger.

We all know how dangerous anger can be. Jesus said that not only is it dangerous, but unjust anger can be equated with murder. When you think about it, it is not that hard to understand. Anger, if not controlled can make a person irrational and lead them to act without thinking. Even if nothing follows in the way of action, the angry feelings can create a “murder of the heart.”

Jesus’ teaching is ideal here – don’t let anger fester. Deal with it quickly. In fact, unless we deal with angry feelings we really can’t have fellowship with God.

Lets learn, with God’s grace, to deal with anger quickly and completely before it becomes “murder of the heart.”