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Solomon's Warning: Will You Heed It?

Glen Solberg
2 days ago
5 min read

Anger is an emotion we all experience. But oftentimes we like to use “softer” words to describe those feelings - words like frustration, upset, or aggravated. Whatever you choose to name the emotion you are feeling, we encourage you to read and consider God’s help for you in dealing with your anger.)

 

 

Personal confession up front: I am a man who has dealt with personal anger issues all my life. So when I read Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 7, they definitely get my attention: Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.  Eccl. 7:9

 

If you are someone like me who has had, or currently have problems with anger, you have probably heard people share Bible verses that can be helpful. Such as James 1:19-20 that says, “Know this, my beloved brothers: 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.” Or maybe “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1).

 

The Bible is full of wise words and warnings about anger because it is something that all of us deal with in life. There is a righteous anger that we can display at times, but, the truth is, most of the anger we experience in life (ours or others) is sinful and grieves the heart of God.

 

To further ponder Solomon’s warning, read this Bible paraphrase: “Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.”  Eccl. 7:9

 

Ouch! I have certainly had many “lumps” from my sinful anger over the years. Anger hurts me, my Christian witness, and maybe most of all, the ones closest to me.

 

Paul shares a similar thought as Solomon does when in Ephesians 4:26 he says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger”. Solomon and Paul both warn us about not dealing with our anger. This is a warning we should not take lightly!

 

So the two questions that seem to flow out of these verses are, “How do I keep anger from lodging in my heart?” And “What does it mean to not let the sun go down on my anger?” Since we all can be tempted to display sinful anger, how does God come alongside us to help?

 

God’s Help for Us

The Bible, as God’s special revelation, not only reveals who He is, but it also gives us help as we walk in our lives. So the first place I go for help with my anger is the Word of God. Verses like James 1:19-20 and Proverbs 15:1 (shared above) have been used by God in my life to help me when I am tempted to sinful anger. Here are a few more that have personally been used by God to help me fight temptations to sinful anger:

 

  • What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 NLT

     

  • Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 ESV


  • And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:30-32

 

The James passage is one of God’s clearest ways to help us see “what is underneath” our anger. God says the anger is from our “desires at war within you”. Choose to ask God to help you see what is at the bottom of your anger. Stop looking outside of you for the source of anger - but rather look inside. And the Proverbs passage reminds us that being slow to anger and overlooking offenses are also ways God can help us to rightly deal with our anger.

 

As wonderful and helpful as His Word is, God has more provision to help us with our sinful anger. The second place we can go for help is to our church leadership, as well as other mature Christ-followers. Yes, you must humble yourself to ask for help, and that is difficult. Most of us would rather give help than receive it, yet God calls us to let others know of our need for help. In Galatians 6:2, God tells us that we should bear one another’s burdens. How can God bring help through others praying for and encouraging me if they do not know I need help? And Romans 12:13 says “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” How can others help meet your need if you are too prideful to ask them?

 

Back to the Questions

So let’s get back to the two questions: “How do I keep anger from lodging in my heart?” And “What does it mean to not let the sun go down on my anger?”  God’s answer to that is don’t let it fester - deal with it. Use God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what is truly “underneath your anger”. In addition, humble yourself and reach out to other Christ-followers to ask for their counsel, their prayer, and maybe even their accountability to help you as you battle anger.

 

As a final exhortation, please don’t forget that if you choose not to deal with your anger, it will have harmful consequences. Your sinful responses hurt the people on the receiving end very deeply. Your witness for Christ is damaged when you refuse to get the help God has for all of us with our anger. Desire true transformation from the inside out, so that your witness and actions display Christ’s love above all.

  

I encourage you to take a minute right now to write out a prayer to God asking Him to help you not allow anger to continue to lodge in your heart and to teach you how to not let the sun go down on your anger. He is more than willing to help. Cry out to Him and use the resources He has provided so that you can walk in freedom from your sinful anger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Resources to Help:

 

 

  

 

Uprooting Anger by Robert D Jones Outside of God’s Word, the Lord has used this book to help me with my sinful anger. I have read it and gone thru it multiple times. I cannot recommend a resource more highly than this book.  Link on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0fJjk3Rz   It has been in print a long time, so check other online sources as well.

 

 

 

Written by Glen Solberg, Abiding Marriage August 2026. All Rights Reserved. Please email us at info@AbidingMarriage.org with any comments or questions.

 

Photo by Jessica Tan on Unsplash

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