In the title to this post, we have two commandments from the word of God (Ephesians 4:26), two expressions of the will of God, one related to our emotions, “Be angry”, the other to our moral behavior “sin not”.
Now the command to Be angry would appear contrary to what I wrote in a previous post, as well as much that is written in God’s word, particularly the Proverbs, regarding mankind’s sinful or unrighteous expression of anger and its destructive consequences (Proverbs 29:22) (Proverbs 15:18) (Proverbs 22:24) (Proverbs 29:22).
In that post I noted that anger is an emotion, an eternal feeling that is actually an aspect of the image of God in us. It is an innate response to injustice, to that which opposes God’s standard of righteousness and truth. Because it is commanded, it means there are things we should/must be angry about and respond to in a way consistent with the righteousness of God. However, because that image of God in us has been corrupted by sin, our experience and expression of anger as well as all other emotions will likewise be corrupted, apart from God’s intervention in our hearts.
In James 1:20 we are warned that the anger – the wrath of man – does not produce, does not display, is not consistent with the righteousness of God, neither in what motivates our anger, in how we express it nor in the outcome our expression of it produces.
God experience’s anger (Psalm 7:11), even what the Bible refers to as “wrath” (Romans 1:18). However, His anger, His wrath is always a just and measured response to injustice and unrighteousness, expressed in a manner consistent with His Holy and righteous nature, and thus the anger we are commanded to experience and express must be likewise.
Righteous anger occurs when God’s person, purposes and will are contradicted or opposed, when men reject His purpose for and rule over their lives. It is motivated by a passionate love for His glory and the people He created for His glory, as well as His hatred of all that would dishonor, diminish or despise that glory.
Thus, for our anger to be righteous it must also be motivated by a passion for God’s glory and compassion for those who are victims of injustice. Anger, as an emotion in man, provides us the energy to respond rightly to an injustice, either to protect someone from it, admonish those who perpetrate the injustice, or to correct the injustice.
Social injustices such as abortion or racial prejudice should/must elicit in us anger – righteous indignation, and a concurrent just response. Our anger is justified by the fact that in both cases the natural rights of image bearers of God have been violated. In racial prejudice it is the right to the honor and respect all men deserve as an image bearer of God. In abortion it is the child’s right to the life that God conceived them to enjoy that is violated. I would suggest that a lack of anger in regard to these injustices, what would amount to apathy or indifference, would be a sin of complicity with the injustice being perpetrated (Romans 1:32).
I cannot think of a greater evil, a greater injustice than abortion in which a helpless child, an image bearer of God, in their most vulnerable and naturally protected stage of development is murdered; a murder that is condoned by the majority of our society. A just expression of our anger toward this however, would not be to assault the women or the abortion clinic staff, or vandalize the clinic building as some have done. Some have rightly attempted to rescue the children by peacefully blocking access to the clinic entrance; however, this presently will only get you arrested. We can however, express our anger productively by lovingly trying to persuade women coming for abortions of the injustice of their actions, demonstrate and advocate politically for the protection of unborn children, donate our time and money to a crisis pregnancy center and fervently pray that the judge of all the earth would bring justice for these children (Genesis 18:25).
On a personal level, unrighteous or sinful anger occurs when I don’t get what I want, what I believe I deserve or am entitled to. It is experienced when I feel dishonored or disrespected, when my will is violated, or my plans and purposes frustrated. It is anger motivated by a love for self or some other Idolatrous desire (James 4:1-2). That being said, it is important to recognize that anger at true injustice inflicted against oneself is right and appropriate. However, the issue then becomes how we justly respond to it.
Jesus provides our best example for this in how He responded to the grave injustices inflicted against Him from the time of His arrest to His crucifixion, where we are told in 1 Peter 2:21-25 that “when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.
The Bible provides us many examples, particularly in the Old Testament, of men who experienced righteous anger and expressed a righteous response to that anger, as well as those whose anger was unrighteous in both its experience and expression. There is however, one instance that stands out to me where there was a righteous experience of anger, but an unrighteous expression of that anger and it is found in Exodus 32:15-19. Moses has been up with God on Mt. Sinai where God is writing for him the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. While Moses is up with God, Israel, led by Moses’ brother Aaron, is engaging in gross idolatry and immorality around a golden calf they fashioned to represent God. Upon coming down into the camp, Moses observes what is going on and is filled with righteous indignation, wherein he proceeds to break all ten commandments.
Humor aside, God instructs us in a number of places in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, how we are to be angry and sin not. In Romans 12:18-21, the Apostle Paul writes, “Repay no one evil for evil…… If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men…… do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to (God’s) wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore ……. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good”.
God is the one who will ultimately right all wrongs, and it is the righteousness of God’s wrath and vengeance I will address in my next post.
Grace and Peace ×