Proverbs 22:8

 The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about sin and anger:

Proverbs 22:8

He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,

And the rod of his fury will perish.

Solomon's wisdom was given to him by God.   So, when we read something written by Solomon we need to realize the vast depth of his writings.  Though mere words they carry insights deeper than we can imagine. In the above proverb we have a psychological dissection of the inner man and how he works ... in his sin.  Solomon shows a complete correlation between sin (sowing iniquity) and anger.    Yes, Paul told us we could be angry "without" sin (Ephesians 4:26), but that is for righteous anger, not human, flesh anger.   Solomon also shows us a correlation between the "empty" life (reap "vanity") and the sowing of sin and producing of anger.   The interchanging of these symptoms (?) or actions or fruits gives us much insight into how to "change" problems.  Anger flows from a life of sin.   People who live in sin and are non-repenttive are destine to produce an empty life and a life that has the fruit of anger.   That anger, will eventually, says Solomon, be quenched by the life of emptiness. If we were to paraphrase this proverb we might say it this way: He who sows sin will reap emptiness and all that anger will soon perish with the one who sows sin.    A psychologist might say it this way: A life of unconfessed sin produces shame ... shame will eventually produce an angry soul ... an angry soul will eventually be evident by a life that seems empty and full of nothing ... because it is.

James 1:20 (ESV)

for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.