Anger

Esther 7:1-10

Anger

Last week we saw God’s hand at work for his people once again. The king got a sudden case of insomnia, so he asks his servants to bring a record book of his kingly deeds. The servants read the story about Mordecai discovering the plot to kill the king.

The king decides to reward Mordecai. At that exact moment, Haman enters the king’s court, seeking permission to hang Mordecai. But he never gets a chance to ask the king. The king initiates the conversation by asking Haman what a good way would be to honor someone.

Haman, of course, believes the king is referring to him, so Haman comes up with this grand honor for this person. The king agrees and tells Haman to carry out the honor on Mordecai. To his credit Haman does obey the king and parades Mordecai around the city giving him honor.

After the parade, Haman returns to his own home and tells his family and friends about his humiliation. They realize Haman is in trouble because Mordecai is a Jew. The servants then come and take Haman to the banquet the Queen has prepared.

At the banquet, the king reaffirms his interest in the matter that is bothering Esther. Again, he pledges to do whatever she wants. Esther once again displays humility and courage as she presented her request to the king.

Esther answered and said, “if it pleases the king, save my people from destruction.” She could have asked for anything, even the death or torture of Haman, but she simply presented the facts and asked the king to spare the life of her people.

Of course, the king wants to know who came up with this plan to kill her people and Esther responds it is Haman.

The king is filled with wrath, but notice what he does. He leaves. He doesn’t start yelling, swearing, kicking, screaming, crying, or whatever. He leaves the scene, presumably to cool off in the garden. To slow down, collect himself, count to ten, or whatever he needed to do.

People handle their anger in different ways, think about some of the ways you have handled your anger and think about some ways in which you have seen others handle their anger.

It seems as we mature, especially as Christians, we handle our anger differently. Anger is no doubt a normal part of life, it is a normal response to a difficult situation.

When we see injustices done in this world we should be angry. When God’s name is trashed we should be angry. When the cable or satellite goes out during a movie, we might be disappointed, but that really isn’t something that we should blow up about.

The king is mad, because of the injustice that occurred. He promoted this man Haman, gave him authority, trusted him and Haman abuses that power, that trust for his own purposes, for his own revenge.

While the king is cooling off in the garden, Haman approaches Esther to beg for mercy and plead for his life. When the king returned it looked to him as though Haman was assaulting Esther.

The other guards grab Haman and one of them mentions Haman’s plan to execute Mordecai. The king thought that would be a good punishment for Haman, so they hanged him.

If Haman were to have been tried, he would have three charges against him. First, he manipulated the king so he could exact revenge upon the Jews. Second, he would be charged with assaulting the Queen, although I believe this charge would have been dropped. Lastly, he planned to use the king to kill a man that the king just honored.

No wonder, the king was so upset with this guy. We all get upset and angry sometimes as I mentioned. But we all need to learn to deal with our anger.

As you might have guessed, the bible has a lot to teach us about anger and how to deal with it. First, we must realize that anger is sin if it is unjust or uncontrolled. Being angry at abortion clinics is justified, but blowing them up in anger is not.

Even with righteous anger, we must remember that we as Christians are representing Christ and we are still to treat others with love and mercy. We are to love our neighbors. We are to love our enemies.

Anger is a work of the flesh and is characteristic of fools, of prideful people. Anger brings about its own punishment, Job 5:2 states, “For wrath kills a foolish man.” When you think about it, that is exactly what happens.

Did you ever get mad at your car for not starting or something? Did you jump out and kick it as hard as you could? What happened? Did the car magically start up and run or did you just hurt your foot and dent the car!

Psalm 37:8 tells us to “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath Do not fret, it only causes harm.” Our best defense against anger is prayer, talking to God. Allowing Him to take control of the situation.

Anger is not good for us physically, mentally, or spiritually. Anger management and conflict resolution are some of the most important things that we need to learn in life. Especially, when others are trying to provoke you to anger. Don’t let them win.

We often find ourselves dealing with people who don’t play by the rules. We find underhandedness, deception, dishonesty, and self-serving attitudes in this world today. It is nothing new though. Those traits pretty much describe Haman, doesn’t it.

When we choose to abide by God’s rules and deal with situations according to His will, then we know that we are under His protection and guidance. He has promised to take care of us, and He will.

When our lives are guided by biblical principals, it gives us the ultimate advantage. Think about that the next time you feel angry, think about what God would want you to do.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Sometimes in our anger and frustration we do indeed sin. We ask for your forgiveness for our weaknesses and we thank you for that forgiveness that you provide to us.

Help us respond to others in our daily lives in ways that honor and glorify you.
AMEN