Hey everybody, Pastor Mark here. We are continuing our study in John Dannem's book, The Cure for Unjust Anger. And last time we looked at the evil effects of unjust anger. Next time we will consider the internal causes of unjust anger. And so we'll go deeply next time about some of the heart issues that are at play when people are unjustly angry. Today, we're looking at the external causes. So if you were to look at someone who was angry, you might see these things because you can't know a person's heart. And sometimes it's even difficult for us to know our own hearts. But today, we're looking at the external causes. The first external cause that downum gives is the virtuous actions of others. So the good things that people do might give rise with your angry, quick to anger heart to some unjust anger. And there are many examples of the virtuous actions of others as the external cause of an unjust or unrighteous anger. In scripture, there's the incident with Cain. Remember in Genesis 4-5, Cain was angry with Abel, his brother. The Lord had regard for Abel's offering and not for Cain's. And it wasn't that Abel was boasting about his own offering over Cain's. No, it was that Cain was jealous and envious. And he was angry that his own offering wasn't received by the Lord well, and that Abel's offering was. And that is the external cause that incited Cain to murder Abel. Saul in 1st Samuel 20 verse 30 when he is against he he is angry at his son Jonathan and he's angry at his son Jonathan because Jonathan preferred David to Saul and Jonathan was more faithful to David than to Saul who was set on killing David. King Asa in 2nd Chronicles 16 is another example. King Asa reigned for I think it was 41 years and he was a virtuous king. He was a virtuous king in Judah but 2nd Chronicles does talk about his final years when he wasn't as virtuous as he ought to have been. There was a time when he, in his final years, was dependent not so much on the Lord as on the Syrian king. And because of that, there was a seer, Hanani, who rebuked King Asa for his depending, his reliance, not on the Lord, but on the Syrian king. And King Asa, unjustly angry, then punishes and imprisons Hanani, this prophet. He responds unjustly to that. virtuous action of Hanani. It was right for Hanani to rebuke Asa for not depending on the Lord. Another instance is King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 3 verse 13. He is unjustly angry at the righteousness of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And then another one, another instance is the Jews in Luke chapter 4 verse 28. Christ had just given them a sermon rebuking them and talking about God's plan to give the gospel and using the incident with the Gentile that the Lord in Elijah's day went to a Gentile, a Gentile widow and not to the Israelites because the Israelites had turned away from God. And that really upset the Israelites, the Jewish people, in Jesus' day. And so they were unjustly angry at the righteous and good Jesus Christ. So the good of someone might be the external cause of our unjust anger. Another instance, or another external cause, is the imaginary offense. Sometimes we perceive an injustice when in reality there isn't one. We make some offense up. And Downham offers one example with Eliab in 1 Samuel 17, verse 28. Now, this is the chapter of the David and Goliath story. And we know David was trusting in the Lord, and he knew that God could vanquish the Philistine, Goliath, because Philistine, Goliath, was going up against God's people. And David, contrary to everyone then, and even King Saul at the time, thought that the Lord had power even over this mighty foe. And he gets to the battle, and Eliab says in 1 Samuel 17, 28, now Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. So Eliab is upset at David, his younger brother, for something that David really didn't do. And there wasn't an evil in David's heart. David's heart was Godward. He loved the Lord and he thought that the Lord could conquer the Philistines and could rescue these terrified Israelites. So Eliab was unjustly angry. Now, I want to read about a page of Downham with this section, Imaginary Offenses. He says that this is the most common cause of anger in these days. So listen to this. It's a very important piece in the book. I know it's a little longer, but it is well worth the read and attention. So he says, this is the most common cause of anger in these days, for lack of love causes people to assume the worst of others. Then they grow angry upon their false perceptions. A perceived injury that's not actually matching up with a real offense. This is because they don't have love for others, they're not believing all things and hoping all things. He says, He gives examples. A man is angry because he waves at his neighbor, but his neighbor doesn't wave in return. Perhaps he didn't see him, or at least was preoccupied and didn't observe him. Another person is offended when her friend laughs, assuming that her friend is making fun of her. Still another grows sad by imagining that his acquaintances despise him. In a word, the causes of unjust anger are as innumerable as people's suspicions. Just those examples right there are even just relevant to us today. We say hi to somebody and they might not hear it and say, oh, I guess they're just trying to avoid us. Maybe they have their earbuds in and they don't hear you. They're not purposely trying to offend you. Indeed, people are so prone to invent causes for anger where none truly exist that sometimes they are upset when they receive small benefits that fall short of their expectations or that are less than they've seen given to others. Sometimes we're upset even when we've been given good things by other people, but we expect more. Then they are provoked anger with small gifts as though they had received great injury. Let us be ashamed of such follies and learn to leave them. Has your friend given more to another than to you? Well, maybe the other person deserved more." Well said. Even if that person didn't, you would be content with what you received if you made no comparisons. That man, and he quotes Seneca here, that man will never be happy whom the sight of a happier man tortures. Has your friend given you less than you hoped for? Perhaps you hoped for more than you deserved, or more than your friend could conveniently give. It goes on a little bit longer, but that's the point is made. Oftentimes, we are unjustly angry for no real good reason. Because we impugn sinful motives to another person. We are quick to judge their motives. Oh, they didn't want to give me as much as they gave that person, so they think less of me. You don't know the person's heart. You don't know why they did this thing or that. And because our expectations for what we deserve are too high, we often get angry. I believe it was Nicholas Allen. He is a biblical counselor who says something like, we get upset because the other person is not thinking of me as much as I'm thinking of me. That's not on the other person. That's on you. That's a false expectation. That's an imaginary offense. And we need to recognize it as such and to learn to suppress that kind of lack of love for other people. And speaking of lack of love, the third external cause would be small offenses. Remember, we talked about a righteous anger would be given to a serious and just cause. And so if we are so offended by small offenses, these trifles, then we should expect a quickness to unrighteous anger. Remember Proverbs 10, 12 and 1 Corinthians 13, 7 and 1 Peter 4, 8. These all encourage us to have love for others, that love covers a multitude of sins. We should be patient and we should bear all things. We shouldn't be so quick to impugn motives. And so ask yourselves, Some questions. Do you get envious? Do you get angry when people are doing good? Maybe you hope that you would have been the one to have done good, but why? For your own benefit? For your own praise? You get angry at the virtuous actions of others? What usually sets you off? Think about the situations, the conditions, the people that you're around that you typically get upset about. This is not to say that they cause you, that they are the reason for your anger, but they might be the occasion, the circumstance that you typically get angry over. Are there certain people in your life, are there certain things that happen to you that you want and you want to happen and you don't get, or that you don't want to happen and they do happen. What situations are there that typically give you a rise to unjust anger? And you need to, when you examine these situations, consider, is this a real injustice? Am I quick to impugn motives? Am I quick to be offended at something that is perhaps just in my mind without actually giving much thought to the person's actions and without even asking that person why they did this or why they didn't? Is it a real injustice? Would you give that person the benefit of the doubt? If you give that person the benefit of the doubt, you will be less likely to be offended by imaginary offenses. And so you'll be less likely to have your heart give itself to unjust anger. So those are some external causes. As I said, next time we'll look at many internal causes, go more to the heart of the matter. We'll see you then.