Proverbs 19:19

 The book of Proverbs gives us insights into so many different areas of life. The book gives us instruction on how to live our lives for God. Here is a proverb that gives us insight about anger:

Proverbs 19:19 (ESV Strong's)

A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,

for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

 This proverb teaches us that when we don’t control our anger and we are released from the penalty for that anger we will repeat it all the more the next time. When we allow our anger to control us it requires that we pay a penalty. But, if we seek freedom from the penalty and are given a reprieve, it will only suffice for a moment. People who have anger in their hearts will not stop without a penalty paid. When we seek to release them from their penalty it doesn’t help them. When a child’s wrath is out of control and we don’t corral it, we will eventually see it magnified later. We have all seen people who have lost control of their children, or a father who has lost control of his anger when he receives no penalty for it. Correcting smaller parts of anger today will stop worse anger from occurring tomorrow.

If we don’t corral anger and find the source for it, we are destined to repeat it.  In our society today we neither punish anger judicially, nor dig deep into its cause responsibly.   Anger is a fact of life. It is just one of many emotions that mankind displays.  Notice, however, what Paul stated about our anger:

Colossians 3:8 (ESV)

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV)

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Satan (like “folly” in Proverbs) likes to use anger as a tool to cause believers to stumble.   We are to put away that tool, through the Spirit’s power, to make sure it does not return to defeat us day after day.