1 Timothy 2:8 Anger

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. [1 Timothy 2:8 NASB]

"Therefore" refers back to verse 5, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," [1 Timothy 2:5 NASB] "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands..."

There are many different customs and traditions when it comes to corporate prayer in church. Some raise their hands while worshiping, while others find that practice to be unacceptable. Some stand for prayer, others remain seated, and others kneel before praying.

When Paul said, "lifting up holy hands," he was referencing the practice in Ephesus of raising the hands with the palms up, in an attitude of prayer. What we need to take from this is not the posture of prayer, whether sitting, standing or kneeling, or whether the hands are raised, folded, clasped, or hanging by your side. The key word is "holy".

This could be paraphrased, "I want the men to pray, having been made holy by the grace of God, and without anger, and without rebelliously questioning God."

There is a great deal of anger in the United States right now, expressed by protests, rioting and looting. 

Protesters are angry with the police because some have abused their authority. The police are angry because some are lashing out at all of the police, based on the abuses of a few. Then there are those on the sidelines who are taking sides, and inflaming the anger and unrest of both sides with their rhetoric.

People are looking for legislation to fix the problems and put an end to racism and hate. But it is impossible to legislate away hate. Only the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse the hate from our hearts. It was because of love that he "gave Himself as a ransom for all." [1 Timothy 2:6 NASB] And only God's love is sufficient to overcome hate.

Sadly, there are many, including many Christians, who refuse to give up their racial hatred.

What the Bible calls "dissension" in this verse is not dissension between men, but dissension between man and God. Some translations call it "doubting". It is an inner rebellion against God, within the mind.

It says, "I know God wants me to love everybody just as He does, but I will not love those people. That person isn't worthy of being loved. I can't love them; you don't know how much I've been hurt by white people, or black people, or Asians, or Hispanics, or Europeans, or anybody else. I won't love someone who tweets Twitter posts like that."

If you are harboring anger or hate in your heart, and you are unwilling to let the love of God heal the hurt, and replace the hate with love, then you are in rebellion against God. The Bible says;

BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [Ephesians 4:26 NASB]

God knows that people will get angry. But it is necessary to quickly let go of that anger. How? You can't legislate it away. You can't medicate it away. Psychology can only help you cope with it, not get rid of it.

You must surrender yourself to the Spirit of God. What does that mean? It means that in the middle of your anger, you turn your mind towards God. You speak to Him in prayer. The posture of prayer doesn't matter. You can be driving down the road. 

You can vent your anger towards God. He can take it, and He won't punish you for it. He already knows your heart, so you might as well tell Him everything that's in it. Maybe it's God that you're mad at. That's okay too. Again, He can take it. Anger is not sin. Refusing to let go of anger is.

If you come to God in anger, He will come to you with peace.

My God, I pray for Your peace. Not only for myself, but for the nation. Please heal the racial wounds that have been inflicted on all sides. Please take the anger that is in me, and replace it with Your love.