Thoughts on Galatians 5:20-22

Thoughts on Galatians 5:20-22 by John W. Ritenbaugh

"idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness"

Paul obviously saw anger and hostility as a basic element of human nature. Of all the negative attitudes that are part of the spiritual mark of the beast, hostility and anger are probably the most frequent expressions against God and others. But how often does the Bible show Jesus, our Model—the One we are to pattern our lives after—angry?

Consider this interesting observation that Solomon made: "Be not hasty in your spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:9).

Jesus was no fool. Thus, we do not see much in the Bible about Him being angry.

The Proverbs say, "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). It is not very frequent that an angry, hostile person speaks softly.

"By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone" (Proverbs 25:15).

"The discretion of a man defers his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression" (Proverbs 19:11).

Anger doesn't help a situation. It divides. It invariably makes things worse. It forces the other person to defend himself, and then a vicious cycle is generated