Anger is overrated, and so is “righteous anger.” Yes, there are certain moments in life that naturally provoke anger. In fact, to not experience strong emotion in the face of injustice may speak to a character flaw. However, righteous anger is very unlike the vast majority of anger human beings will ever experience. Most of our anger is unrighteous, self-centered, and downright destructive.
Righteous Anger Or An Opportunity For The Devil?
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27
How many times have we heard the first half of this verse quoted? It’s often used as carte blanche to be angry about anything and everything. “Be angry,” the Bible says, so anger is justifiable. Yet the second half of that verse is even more telling. Here in the American Midwest, the sun goes down a little after 7 PM this time of year. That gives me plenty of time to cool off before I go to sleep. The point of the verse is that anger should always be short-lived and in control (if we’re going to bed with righteous anger, we’re doing it wrong.) Anger is a dangerous emotion to entertain (an opportunity to the devil). No one knew this better than the ancients.
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Proverbs 25:28
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Matthew 5:21-22
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20
Medicating Anger With Lust, Violence, And Vice
Anger is a very unpleasant emotion, and people who are chronically angry are always eager to obtain relief. How we medicate our anger says a lot about our character. Some people suffer in silence, while others turn to other-destructive behaviors, like violence, and self-destructive behaviors, like pornography. It’s a fact, however, that the more angry we are, the more likely we are to compromise our values. This is because a state of anger is an emotionally off-balance one, and it blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Anger doesn’t fade with time, but has the tendency to accumulate (inner reservoir of anger) and contaminate every area of life.
Road rage is a prime example of what’s called displaced anger. Displaced anger is when an individual has lost touch with the true source of their anger and gets angry at the slightest superficial trigger. We can all think of people who fit this description. Maybe you are one of those people. Oftentimes, the source of displaced anger is an offense that took place weeks, months, or years ago. Whenever we go to bed angry, we invite the chaos of the primal emotion of anger into our lives, and we cannot control when it chooses to rear its ugly head.
Healing Anger With Love And Forgiveness
The antidote to anger is love and forgiveness. Love and forgiveness toward all things, including ourselves, God, and every human being we come in contact with. We’ve all made mistakes, and if we’re old enough, we’ve probably made some very serious ones. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves and move forward. Most of us have questions for God about why certain things happened or didn’t happen in our lives. We must learn to be at peace with what we cannot control-past, present, or future–and be grateful for the blessings we currently possess.
Finally, other human beings may be the greatest source of anger on the planet. We must learn to expect less from others and more from ourselves. And to remember the ominous words of Jesus–if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. How we treat others influences the way God treats us.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15
For more, check out Help! I Am Angry With My Parents! (5 Critical Reminders). You can also visit the complete archive of articles on integrity.
