Jonathan Munson, Executive Director

“But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:7

Have you heard of “rage rooms?”

For a small price, you can walk into a room armed with a bat or a club and smash all sorts of breakable objects. No cleanup. No consequences. Just a place where you can let off some steam.  Participants say it’s a cathartic, stress-relieving experience.

Unfortunately, Cain didn’t have access to a rage room.

He was furious that the Lord accepted his brother, Abel’s, offering but rejected his (Genesis 4:5). A brooding, jealous anger simmered in his heart.

Seeing this, the Lord came to Cain and asked a piercing question, “Why are you angry?” (Genesis 4:6)

If the Lord asked you that question, how would you answer?

We usually give surface-level responses—traffic, work, difficult people, bad service at a restaurant, etc. While these answers are understandable, they don’t necessarily explain why we’re angry; they only point to what we’re angry about. The Lord’s question challenges us to explore the underlying causes of our anger and resolve them once and for all.

Unless we want to repeat Cain’s fatal mistake, we must recognize two truths:

• The Lord sees our anger.

We may try to ignore, cover up, or bury it deep inside, but it’s impossible to hide our anger from God. 

• We have a choice.

When we feel angry, we can either respond in a God-honoring way or in a stubborn, selfish way.

The Lord warned Cain that “sin was crouching at his door.” Like a predator lying in wait for its prey, anger was ready to devour Cain.  He could resist and do the right thing, or he could get eaten alive by his rage. Cain stood at a pivotal fork in the road: one path led to the Lord’s blessing, the other led to destruction.  

Sadly, we know how the story ends. Ignoring the Lord’s warning, Cain lured his brother into a field and committed the first murder in human history (Genesis 4:8).

Cain’s story still plays out in today’s headlines. Random acts of violence. School shootings. A husband kills his wife. A wife kills her husband. Thousands of years later, unchecked anger continues to fuel our rage.

Although we may never have committed murder because of our anger, we’re not off the hook. The New Testament warns us against anger taking root in the heart. Jesus said, “Anyone who his angry at his brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21). John echoes Jesus’ words, “We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother…anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart.”  (1 John 3:12,15).

Harboring hateful anger is relationally and spiritually deadly. We can’t afford to let our anger go unchecked and consume us as it did Cain. 

So, let me ask—Is anger “crouching at your door” today?

How will you respond?  Where will you take it?

There is a place to go that is infinitely superior to a rage room: the throne room.

As Charles Swindoll says, “The best place to get angry is on your knees, where nobody hears but God.”

Get alone with the Lord. Tell Him why you’re angry.

Ask for His help.

And allow His grace, not your anger, to rule over you.

DIG DEEPER:
Read “What’s At the Root of Your Anger?” by Michael Kelley