Anger: The Match versus The Gunny Sack

I thought that I would take a moment here to talk about the two types of  anger from the Greek that the Bible talks about. There is a big difference in the two and it is the one translated from the Greek word orge that one is to forsake. I am going to quote it from Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary pg.26 Notes.
"Thumos, "wrath" (not translated "anger"), is to be distinguished from orge, in this respect, that thumos indicates a more agitated condition of the feelings, an outburst of wrath from inward indignation, while orge suggests a more settled or abiding condition of mind frequently with a view to taking revenge. Orge is less sudden in its rise than thumos, but more lasting in its nature. Thumos expresses more the inward feeling, orge the more active emotion. Thumos may issue in revenge, though it does not necessarily include it. It is characteristic that it quickly blazes up and subsides, though that is not necessarily implied in each case."

I like to look at it this way, thumos is like a match which quickly lights but does not last. Orge, on the other hand, I refer to as a gunny sack where one stores up grudges only to use them against someone when the time is right. It is also this type of anger that one is not to let the sun go down on (Ephesians 4:26). For me, I have learned that thumos is a signal that something is not right and it gives me the energy to make a change for the better. Nor are we to provoke others to anger nor be quick to become angry (Ephesians 6:4; Ecclesiastes 7:9; James 1:19). One more thought, orge is the one that someone chooses to stay mad about a hurt or wrong done to them.

Which anger do you identify with and how do you handle it? Ask God to show you ways to better cope with your anger as well as that of others.


My disclaimer: I know that every believer's relationship to God is different and unique. You may not have the same experiences and that is okay. I am sharing because I want to bring Him the glory for what He is doing in me and impart to you what I have learned from His word.