Day 3

Yesterday we saw that anger itself is not a sin. Today let’s look at the first of the two kinds of anger the Bible describes: righteous anger. There really is an anger that is not sinful. Ephesians 4:26 assumes it when it says, “Be angry and do not sin.” So what is righteous anger, and where does it come from?

It comes from the very heart of God. Psalm 7:11 tells us God feels indignation every day, and Scripture says the wrath of God is executed in judgment over unrepentant sin. Hold two things together, because both are true: God is love, and God will judge all sin. It’s precisely because He is holy that He cannot shrug at evil. This is why He sent His only Son to die on the cross, because He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” That is the good news of the gospel.

Here’s the point for us: if God Himself is angry at sin and sinful behavior, then it’s also possible, and even right, for us to have a godly anger toward sin and sinful behavior.

And Jesus shows us exactly what that looks like. He demonstrated the love of God perfectly, laying down His life on the cross. Yet when He walked into the temple and saw the hypocrites merchandising and exploiting the people in God’s house, He made a whip and drove them out, and He did it twice. This was not the meek and mild Jesus of those soft old paintings. This was Jesus angry at the abuse going on in the holy place. And remember, Jesus never sinned, so this was not sinful anger. It was godly, righteous anger.

The truth is, there are some things that ought to make us angry, things we should stand up for. We are never called to be passive, placid, or weak. We’re called to boldly speak the truth in love.

Think of the taking of innocent lives, the millions of babies lost before they were ever born. That ought to make us angry. The exploitation of the pornography industry. The persecution of Christians around the world. The cruelty of human trafficking. The injustice of racial prejudice. All of these, and more, ought to stir righteous indignation in the soul of the believer, enough that we would actually take action and fight for what is right.

These are the things we should get worked up about, not the slight at the office or the car that cut us off. Romans 12:21 tells us to overcome evil with good, and that is exactly what God has called us to do.

So let me ask you: what stirs your anger? If it’s mostly petty offenses against you, ask God to retune your heart, to break over the things that break His, and to turn that holy indignation into courageous action for what is right.