Anger & Self-Control

We baptize our outbursts as ‘passion’ or ‘just my personality.’ But Galatians 5:19-21 lists fits of anger as a work of the flesh, and James 1:19-20 calls us to be slow to anger.

We have become masters at baptizing our own sinful reactions, labeling our loss of self-control as “passion,” “honesty,” or simply “just my personality.” When we lash out, we are quick to shift the blame to others, claiming, “They made me angry,” as if our internal landscape is a helpless victim of external circumstances. But Scripture offers no such shelter for our volatile tempers. Galatians 5:19-21 plainly lists “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions” as works of the flesh — not signs of a strong personality, but evidence of a heart still ruled by the fallen nature rather than the Spirit. To justify an outburst is to deny the lordship of Christ over your own emotions. James 1:19-20 provides the standard for the believer: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” When you prioritize your right to be offended or your need to “blow off steam” over the fruit of self-control, you are choosing to prioritize your flesh over God’s kingdom. Stop hiding behind your temperament. If you are prone to outbursts, you are not “real” — you are undisciplined. To say, “That’s just how I am,” is to say that you have no intention of being conformed to the image of Christ. Repent of the pride that fuels your temper, stop shifting the blame onto those you believe “provoked” you, and submit your emotions to the refining power of the Spirit. True strength is not found in the volume of your anger, but in the power to restrain it.

Scriptures Referenced (KJV)

5 key passages from the King James Version (KJV).

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,”

Galatians 5:19 KJV Read Galatians chapter 5 →

“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,”

Galatians 5:20 KJV Read Galatians chapter 5 →

“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:21 KJV Read Galatians chapter 5 →

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

James 1:19 KJV Read James chapter 1 →

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

James 1:20 KJV Read James chapter 1 →