Another Day.
Another Post.
We thank God.
This one comes from a place close to my heart. I’ve been questioning this over the last day or so.
What is righteous anger?
But first, let’s open our Bibles to Ephesians 3:25-27 which says,
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
I want to focus on verse 26 which in another version says:
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
So where do we start?
Let’s state the obvious. We know that there’s a right way and a wrong way to handle your anger. Surely. We can briefly compare two Biblical examples. Moses handled his anger the wrong way and it cost him the Promised Land. Whereas Jesus handled His anger the right way, and those who took advantage of the poor were exposed and thrown out of the temple.
Okay. But so I’ve got a question. Scripture says, ‘Be angry, and do not sin,’ It says we should be angry, and do not sin. It doesn’t say don’t be angry and do not sin. Does this mean that we simply just have to go about anger in the right way?
Like instead of just complaining about the problem, you’re supposed to do something about it. Instead of walking around on a slow burn and keeping those around you on pins and needles, get to the core of your anger and express it the right way.
I would like to think so.
I was doing some reading and found myself on an article written by Steven Cole.
He mentioned that we need to keep in mind that Paul is telling us specific ways in which we need to put off the old way of life and put on the new. And we can also note that one characteristic of the world is that worldly people do not get angry about the right things.
Pause.
See I think I have this issue.
Often, I feel like I don’t get angry when I need to. It is like I am desensitised. I need things happen. I experience things. And I know they aren’t right. Yet I just carry on. I don’t know if it is virtuous or something to be weary of.
It’s tough. Especially as Christians. Trying to find that balance between being loving but also being firm, and being angry when necessary. We often lean into the peace and love side, but scripture here urges us to be angry but (or and) do not sin.
What else did Mr Cole say?
He went on to say how the people of the world see sins that destroy people, shrug their shoulders and say, “Whatever!” Or, even worse, they laugh at these sins as they are portrayed on the sitcoms on TV. In this indifference toward sin, they are very un-godlike.
That reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:6 which says,
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Let’s be clear. God hates sin and He displays His righteous wrath against it. Since sin destroys people, God would be neither righteous nor loving if He did not hate sin with a holy passion.
So you are saying that if we want to be godly people, we must learn to hate sin.
Well, yes. First of all we must hate and be angry at sin in ourselves.
Hold on.
I am not saying hate yourself. Hate the sin within. Hate all that which does not reflect Christ. We must start with ourselves. We must take the log out of our own eye first. But, also, we must be angry at the sin and injustice that we see in the world. But, in our righteous anger, we must be careful, so that we don’t fall into sin.
But that last part is the hard bit. Being angry and making sure we don’t fall into sin. Isn’t it easier just to never be angry?
Here’s a quote:
“A man that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good. Now and then a man should be shaken to the core with indignation over things evil.”
And I wrestled with this thought. What does it say about me if I feel no way when I see evil? How can I be in the company of darkness, and living in iniquity, and feel nothing? What does that say about the Spirit within me and my sensitivity to it?
Aristotle said, “Anybody can become angry—that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy.
Before we wrap up, let’s go back to the example of Moses.
Moses is an example of “righteous anger” gone wrong.
Understandably, Moses felt anger over the unjust treatment of his Hebrew brethren, but what he did with that anger got him into trouble. Why? Because he allowed his emotions (aka, flesh) to control him with the result that he committed a crime of passion (murder). Although he was right about the injustice (“righteous anger”), his reaction was wrong. His hot-blooded volatility revealed how unprepared he was for the task God had planned for him and as result God trained him with 40 years of “desert duty”, so that he would realize that rescuing his own people in his own way would ultimately fail. Moses needed to learn what we all need to learn over and over – that to accomplish God’s work in God’s way, we must rely on God’s power (His Spirit).
And honestly, I think that is the solution.
If we fear that we will not deal with the situation the right way, try to deal with it the godly way. Pray about it. Don’t let those feelings of anger drive you. Don’t let those emotions take over you. You do not want to be stirred up by righteous anger but moved by the flesh.
Be angry, and do not sin.
How do we avoid that sin? Through the Holy Spirit within us.
Alright.
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