Is there anything in our lives that causes us to be angry? As Christians, imaging Christ who overturned tables and rebuked scribes, there should be. Anger is a signal, like pain is a signal, that something is wrong. There are times when expressed anger is a cry for help.
The Roman poet Horace says, “Anger is a short madness”. That sounds familiar to some of us who can ‘get mad’ occasionally. The implication is that the rage contained in anger causes us to appear temporarily insane. Ambrose Bierce, the American satirist, once said, “Speak when you’re angry and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret”. Have any of us ever found ourselves in this position? Probably, and at that point, we were not honoring or glorifying God.
Samson angerly destroying the enemy temple
Remember that unhealthy anger can destroy everything it touches. Everything. Christ reminds us that anger without cause is like murder and will bring us under judgment (Matt 5:21f).
Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Is anger the implement that God uses in some to drive them closer to Him? Is it a signal for change? Can our response be constructive to us and glorifying to God? If we respond with a righteous sense of God’s justice, then yes it can be. When we recognize that it is the face of Christ that we are to present, the eyes of Christ with which we are to see, and the hands of Christ that we are to extend, then God will be glorified through our righteous anger.
Related articles
- Ministry: Glorifying God or Glorifying Self? (solumevangelium.wordpress.com)
- Let’s Get Good and Angry! (captivatedbychrist.org)