Hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, dissensions, envy, and murder are all related to anger, and anger need not appear as rage or fury; it can be hidden, held inside, nursed, and even secretly enjoyed. Such ungodly anger is serious, because Paul warns that those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. They are the opposite of eternal life in God's Family. They also stand against the fruit of the spirit: unrighteous anger inhibits love, drains joy, opposes peace and longsuffering, erodes kindness, rarely aligns with biblical goodness, despises gentleness, and resists self-control. The fruit of the spirit cannot be found in a person while he practices ungodly anger. Anger is not always wrong, since God created the emotion, and He Himself is angry at times, always in right proportion and motivated by love. Human "righteous indignation," however, may be nothing more than a self-centered temper. Godly anger is directed at sin, not people, and its purpose is to destroy its target utterly. Anger will seek a target and will not dissipate until that target is destroyed, so the safest target is one's own sin. Anger held for the wrong reason or aimed at the wrong thing eats away at a person, stealing his joy, limiting his potential, keeping him miserable, and injuring anyone who becomes a suitable target. It can be hidden even from the one who harbors it, yet show itself in subtle, indirect, and elusive ways.

Malice is one of anger's cousins, and it does not have to look dramatic. Paul tells the Colossians to put off anger, wrath, and malice (Colossians 3:8), and he warns against these same attitudes in nearly all his epistles. Converted church members are not burning down stables, poisoning donkeys, slashing tires, or brawling, so malice among them shows up in quieter ways. It may be repaying one morsel of gossip with another, or saying something true about someone that is neither appropriate nor helpful, since godly love covers a multitude of sins. Hidden malice can appear as purposeful unfaithfulness in commitments, small bits of chaos in another's environment, intentional procrastination to keep others off balance, or work done poorly on purpose. It can refrain from doing good when it is in one's power to do it, give mixed messages to confuse, or withhold needed information to punish and disadvantage another. It can secretly rejoice at another's calamity or pout when a rival prospers. Those who make a habit of it have a heart problem, for the heart is behind the anger, whether subtle or obvious. Malice can only destroy the person himself and others, and it will escape in various guises unless he deals with it and removes it. God says that those who practice such things will not fit in His Family. Jesus' disciples are marked by love, which looks out for others' well-being even at personal sacrifice, is not provoked, thinks no evil, and does not rejoice in iniquity.

Malice is a form of unresolved anger, closely tied to wrath and hatred, and it need not be loud or violent. It often hides in passive aggression: sulking, sabotage, withholding information, backhanded compliments, manipulation, and resentment of those who succeed. Such behavior frequently takes root in childhood power struggles with a harsh parent, becomes ingrained, and grows into a lens through which a person sees the world. This is why Paul warns fathers not to provoke their children to wrath. Malice, anger, and hatred are learned habits, so they can be broken and replaced with godly responses. Christ came to heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18), and a person who recognizes emotional wounds should bring them to God and ask for healing, which may be instant or gradual. Psalm 37:7-9 supplies the remedy in two parts that must work together: cease from anger and forsake wrath, and wait patiently on the LORD. The command can be obeyed, especially with God's Spirit, because God is sovereign. He will deal with evildoers and reward the righteous, so there is no need to keep struggling for control or to nurse indignation and resentment. Those who practice the works of the flesh, including ungodly anger, will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21). Hidden anger destroys relationships, and since eternal life is a relationship with the Father and the Son, and love for others reflects love for God (I John 2:9; 3:15; 4:20), the meek who wait on God will inherit eternal life.