Are You Angry Or Humble? (Psalm 37:8-17)
GIST: Replace anger with humility because the futility of sin leads only to despair.
Last week, we started Psalm 37. I said then, it reads almost more like a set of proverbs advising us how to face the frustration of seeing those who have rejected Christ living easy lives. The first seven verses focused on how to avoid worry by remembering the devastating position these lives are actually in (which should lead us to prayer rather than envy) and directing our hearts intentionally on Him rather than the material and temporary. Continuing in that same vein, the next few verses address why we shouldn’t allow this to lead to anger.
I remember my dad always saying preaching is hard because you’re going to spend a whole week with God trying to teach you the message you’ll deliver in under 30 minutes. This means God will likely put you through situations to reveal how much you need to know these truths, as well. Guys, this morning, what we’re looking at is the topic of anger, and I’ve been reminded this week how much I need to hear this. We all process anger differently. I’m not one to yell and scream very often, but that doesn’t mean I don’t allow it to sometimes get the best of me. Last week, I mentioned the timeliness of our passage addressing worry, since we have been living in worldwide uncertainty for the past five months. Though this has brought many together in really meaningful ways, it has also divided not only our country but also our immediate community powerfully. There is a lot of anger out there. It permeates so much of our society right now.
So, here’s our gist: Replace anger with humility because the futility of sin leads only to despair.
I. REPLACE ANGER WITH HUMILITY (8-11)
Our verses this morning open with this call: “8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” In straightforward terms, we’re told to→
Forsake Anger. The word used for anger here is actually a word referring to what your nose does when you’re angry. It could be translated more like “don’t flare your nostrils and forcibly blow air out”, but “don’t be angry” expresses the same idea, though with less nose imagery ☺️. Then, wrath refers to violent anger, or you could look at it as anger acted out.
Both communicate the same idea. Getting worked up because we feel wronged or that wrong has been done to something or someone we care about, which is ultimately the same thing because those wrongs provoke us to anger when we take them personally.
We’re being told this shouldn’t be part of how we face the world. Immediately, some of you just got really uncomfortable. Most of you have heard me talk about this before. Though God is capable of righteous anger; we rarely are. Instead, our anger is largely self-seeking. “It tends only to evil.” I don’t want to say it is completely impossible to be righteously angry this side of Heaven. However, I do believe it is at least highly improbable and there is a serious danger in getting sinfully angry as a Christian and excusing it by calling it “righteous indignation”. Look where David goes next→
“9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.” We can’t let anger consume us. That’s the condition of the unreformed, the unchanged life→
Because it leads to destruction. David is going to circle us back to this point in just a moment. Anger leads to destruction and is the opposite of the life we have been called to live. Anger is the wide path. Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount “... For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”(Matthew 7:13-14). We are called to enter by the narrow gate. Though the world around us might be running headlong toward bitterness and anger, we are called to something much different. We have to be followers of the prince of peace. That’s not an easy path to follow, but it leads to abundant life and is worth it.
Now, let’s just put this into our modern context of racial injustice across our nation and closer to home even the bitter divisions brought about by the concept of mask wearing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Not letting anger consume you means not being someone who blows up with biting remarks in person or on social media in “defense of your stance”. You can stand with conviction without being rude. This also means not being angry at people who are angry ☺️. Complaining bitterly about people who are making a spectacle of their anger, even if you’re behind closed doors, is no better. We’re called instead to this→
“11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” At its core, anger is selfish and it leads to self-destruction, but→
The Humble Enjoy Peace Instead. The idea of meekness here is one of humility. It’s the idea of being gentle in mind because you’re aware of your lowness in position. When your whole identity is wrapped up in being a sinner saved by amazing grace and being lifted to a position of blessing and a place of enduring love, you view the world differently. Instead of having a temporary and jaded perspective, you can live with your eyes lifted to Christ and His saving cause! Your purpose is no longer self-glorification. Now you live to know Him and see Him known!
There is no time to waste on selfish anger when you’re made to experience abundantly delightful peace. There is joy in the narrow gate, but we have to walk in humility to enter by it.
The second major section here I will be shorter on because it is really more of a point of emphasis. Replace anger with humility→
II. Because The Futility of Sin Leads Only To Despair (12-17)
Let’s move through these next verses together. “12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.” I know that seems harsh, but This is not a picture of God taking joy in the wickedness and anger of the lost. Instead, what we have here is really a picture of that futility. In a way, this is like when a parent watches his or her child throw a fit.
Now what I’m about to say might change your perspective on my parent team. However, if you have ever had that up on a pedestal, it is definitely time for it to come down ☺️. My kids throw fits. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, some of them have demonstrated extreme skill :-). Like every parent who has ever watched a child throw a fit, I have told them that it will accomplish nothing. Never have any of our children benefited from screaming or rolling around on the floor because they didn’t get what they thought they were entitled. And I’m not going to lie, when I watch a kid throw a fit, I usually have two reactions. Honestly, like most of you, the initial reaction is frustration. In hindsight though, and sometimes this comes faster than you think maybe because of my awful personality, there is a degree of humor when I picture their extreme antics. I can’t ever let them see this in the moment, but afterwards we’ll even talk with them about how ridiculous their behavior was.
No I’m not saying that this is the exact equivalent to how God reacts to our wickedness.I am sinful, so my reactions are always going to be tainted with sin. His are not. However, just like when I see my child throwing a fit and I know but it will not accomplish anything close to what they are trying to make it accomplish, He sees the futility of our sin very clearly. That’s what the next verse further displays→
“14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” Sin is self-destructive. Selfish anger will not bring you what you’re looking for, but there is hope and joy and fulfillment in this life, which is why David next says→
“16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.” Oh, the eternal perspective. You might not feel like much is going your way in this life, but if you are in Christ you have everything you could ever need. Because He holds you, you can stand.
TAKEAWAYS
You will get angry but don’t let it consume you. I want to make sure and say this because I don’t want to be misunderstood. So much of what gets us really fired up is just dumb. We even think it’s dumb after a little bit of hindsight. That being said, there will be circumstances that hit deeper. Anger that wells up over situations like unexpected loss or serious injustice. Those are going to be harder hills to climb, and sometimes will even lead us, by the grace of God, through battles we’re called to fight and trials we’re meant to grow through. Either way, being consumed by rage will destroy you. Instead→
Be humble and enjoy His peace.
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