“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27 (NKJV)
Moses was a great leader of God’s people who was chosen to lead them out of Egyptian bondage to the the Promised Land. He started strong, but sadly he didn’t finish strong. When the people complained that there was no water, Moses’ frustration and anger caused him to respond wrongly by striking the rock instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded him (Numbers 20:1-13). As a result, it caused him not to see the Promised Land. Instead of allowing the people’s criticism to drive Him towards God, he allowed his anger to disobey God.
Anger is a human emotion, however, we should not allow the behaviour of those around us, to cause our anger to respond negatively, which leads to sin. Anger by itself it not a sin, but instead, what we do with that anger can cause us to sin. It can be a reaction that we may later regret—for example: our harsh words, lashing out verbally or physically, doing things out of spite, or causing another to sin. Quite often these are actions that we may not be able to take back, and will regret later.
We must exercise caution in what we want to say and how we react, especially when we are angry. James 1:12 describes the benefit of the trials we must each go through. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. The solution—James 1:20 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
In Moses’ case, his patience with the Israelites had been tested over and over by their constant murmurings, grumbling and complaining. He reached his breaking point, and instead of relying on God’s promises, and trusting in Him when under pressure, Moses allowed his frustration and anger to disobey the command of God and strike the rock. The result, was that God allowed the water to flow, but Moses was forbidden to enter into God’s Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).
Do we see Moses in ourselves at times? How do we respond or react when we are angry, or when others upset us? What can we learn from Moses’ example? Do we allow others to push our buttons when we get frustrated, or angry? I know there are times when we reach our breaking point, but it is not being angry that is the sin, it is how we respond. The truth is that even Moses, just like us had to learn the lesson that the sin of anger may cause us to dishonour God, and keep us out of Promised Land as well.
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