Wrath (Anger) vs. Patience (Meekness)

Wrath (Anger) vs. Patience (Meekness)


Deadly Sin vs. Heavenly Virtue/Fruit of the Holy Spirit

"… for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:20

"The fool immediately shows his anger, but the shrewd man passes over an insult." Proverbs 12:16

"The quick-tempered man makes a fool of himself, but the prudent man is at peace." Proverbs 14:17

"The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height." Proverbs 14:29

"A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

"An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord." Proverbs 15:18

"A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city." Proverbs 16:32

"It is honorable for a man to shun strife, while every fool starts a quarrel." Proverbs 20:3

"Like golden apples in silver settings are words spoken at the proper time." Proverbs 25:11

"Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings." Proverbs 25:28

"The fool gives vent to all his anger; but by biding his time, the wise man calms it." Proverbs 29:11

"An ill-tempered man stirs up disputes, and a hotheaded man is the cause of many sins." Proverbs 29:22

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions (Galatians 5:19-20).

"Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil." Ephesians 4:26-7

"All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice." Ephesians 4:31

"Know this my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20

"Do not return evil for evil, or insult with insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:9

"Leave it to the Lord and wait for him; Be not vexed at the successful path of the man who does malicious deeds. Give up your anger, and forsake wrath; be not vexed, it will only harm you. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.” Psalms 37:7-9

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because of the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8

"… strengthened with every power, in accordance with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy," Colossians 1:11

"It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

"Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit." Ecclesiastes 7:8 b

Wrath is senseless anger. It causes you to be irritated and intentionally want to cause harm to others. It is when you want revenge or to get even when you feel someone is not treating you fairly. Wrath or anger can strike when you are tired or frustrated. There are days you may find it hard to be loving. You can become angry with the very people we love the most. When someone is not nice, you shouldn't repay one bad deed with another bad deed. You shouldn't take the matter into your own hands but leave the justice to God. You should fill your heart with love and not anger.

God commands us to forgive those who sin against us. This doesn't mean you have to forget about the offense against or ignore the pain that it has caused you. You just need to choose to let go of the wrong that was committed and move on without seeking revenge. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and Jesus asks us to love the sinner but to hate the sin. You shouldn't keep your anger in but turn it into something positive instead. Angry people usually justify their anger, saying it's someone else's fault they are angry. We shouldn't give into anger when we are upset by other people's words or actions. When we give in to anger, we often focus on our own well being, comfort or happiness. Instead, we should be first and foremost concerned about other people’s welfare and being a good witness for God. God does not want us to simply react emotionally to others' actions. God is the judge and will take care of others. Instead, we should respond with a gentle spirit or find a way to turn the situation around for the betterment of everyone concerned.

Patience is the ability to be calm (have control of your emotions), tolerant (kind and considerate to the people different from you) and understanding (putting yourself in another person's shoes). Patience is a type of meekness and selflessness that avoids harming others. Sometimes you may feel that the hardest thing to do is to wait. Waiting your turn in line can be extremely difficult especially when you are excited and in a hurry. You usually know what you want and when you want it which is usually right now. But the right time for things to happen in your life is determined by God and not by us. He will help you in His own time and according to His own plan and he will eventually reveal what He has in store for you. In other words, you must wait for God to make His plans clear.

Are you patient when someone else is unhappy? God wants you to choose not to get angry or upset with yourself and others when things are not going your way. You should also watch out for the feelings of others. You can choose not to get upset because God gave us this wonderful gift of Holy Spirit to help you with this.

Patience is the ability to remain calm in difficult situations. When you are patient, you will have better relationships since you will have tolerance for others’ shortcomings, and able to forgive when someone wrongs you. It can be hard to wait when we want something right NOW and so much harder not to complain about it. We live in a society that promotes instant gratification. The wait on things can be frustrating. After all, you want that guy to ask you out right now. Or you want that car so you can go to the movies tonight. Or you want that great skateboard you saw in the magazine. Advertising tells us that the "now" matters. Yet, there is something to the saying, "Good things come to those who wait." We shouldn't want everything right now because things/tasks can take more time than we thought. You must take your turn, wait for your friend or wait to go somewhere. It may take a lot of practice. If you can just put the needs and wants of others ahead of you, you'll get better at being patient.

We don't always understand why God says "no" to our prayers. You also might not want to wait on God to do something. He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to use the gift of patience as we love Jesus, others and, yes, even yourself, with His special love. God has His own timing so you need to wait on that timing or sometimes our blessings get lost. We cannot know all of His ways, so it is important to have trust in the delay. Eventually what will come your way will be better than you ever thought it could be, because it will come with God's blessings. God will help you gain the patience and the strength to wait for the things He desires for you. Allow Him to work in your heart to provide you with the patience you need.

When you lose your temper, you want to strike out at others with an intention to hurt them and say and do things you shouldn't. So when you are tempted to say unkind words or start an argument, you should learn to slow down and think about things before you do them. After all, you can't take words back. If you blurt out the first words that come into your head, you may say the wrong thing. God wants you to choose your words carefully or you will regret it later and may even lose a friend. You can ask yourself before you speak, if what you say is necessary, true and kind.

Frustration can lead to anger and then even worse, rage and bitterness can follow. Anger may be good for identifying problems but not the answer to solving them. But as you know, the feelings of anger will pass.

You need to take responsibility for your own actions and not blame your hurtful responses on someone else. Stepping back and taking a break from the situation to be alone can be very helpful in managing your anger. This gives you the chance to calm down, think over the happening and determine what to do next. If your response is to act out or attack, you may just need to take a deep breath and leave the room to clean out your anger tank. You can talk about it after you settle down so no mean words will be exchanged. This way you can think more clearly and get a better handle on your emotions to control your anger. Thinking how bad it could have been and expanding your view of the others perspective or thinking of someone who is dealing with a difficult situation can ease the anger.  You can try praying, singing a song (in their head); read a favorite passage of Scripture or a "feel-good" wise saying; go for a run, count backwards, call someone to vent or just to just shift your focus and get redirected.  Or use grace by serving the object of your wrath a cool glass of water – then have one yourself while you're at it.  Inhale slowly, hold your breath for five seconds, then completely exhale slowly and wait five seconds before repeating the inhale and exhale three times...this can at least reduce your pulse rate and lower blood pressure. You may need to try again and start over, adjust your attitude, accept your instruction and remain calm and not blow up. It takes a lot of patience, prayer, self-control and self discipline to get over your anger quickly, channel it into different areas or express it at a different time.