The Danger of Anger
Scripture
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Description
Anger is an offense to God that wrecks our relationships. Anger is a sinful attitude of the heart that we find on the biblical lists of things that Christians must put to death. In this portion of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus helps us to define anger; He warns us of its danger; and He calls us to move past our anger to pursue righteous, reconciled relationships with one another.