Anger Is Wrong???

To be concise, nope. Anger is not wrong.

MISUNDERSTOOD

A common belief among followers of Christ is that anger is wrong. I don't know that I've heard it preached before, but we do live by this belief. I really don't like this belief. In fact, it makes me extremely angry (oops, broke the "rule"). It is completely unbiblical.

Many followers of Christ are passive and afraid of opposition. Many followers of Christ care more about what other people think rather than what God thinks. Many followers of Christ allow the feelings of people to supersede the feelings of God. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This makes me want to punch a wall.

Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I'm imperfect and I make mistakes. I have been guilty of this at times. Father please forgive me. I've finally just got fed up, and I think that it is biblical. Think about this, Jesus was definitely loving, kind, and approachable, but He also got angry. Really angry.

If you look into most churches, you see a bunch of sweetie pies. This bothers me deeply. This also is unbiblical. Of course we should be filled with "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). But, we are also commanded to be angry in the scripture, "In your anger do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26).

RIGHTEOUS ANGER

The Bible says that God is angry (Psalm 7:11; Mark 3:5), and we are made in His image (Genesis 1:7). Biblically, anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems. Examples include:

* Paul confronting Peter because of his wrong example (Galatians 2:11-14).
* David being upset over hearing the prophet Nathan sharing a story of injustice (2 Samuel 12).
* Jesus getting angry over how some of the Jews had defiled worship at God's temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-18).

Anger turns to sin when it is selfishly motivated (James 1:20), God's goal is distorted (1 Corinthians 10:31), or when anger is allowed to linger (Ephesians 4:26-27). Instead of channeling the anger to accomplish the goal at hand, it is used to attack a person instead. We all make mistakes at times, but God is in the business of salvation and transformation. If we let Him enter, He will unload His passionate, consuming, and undying fire into our hearts.

Ask God to infiltrate your life with His passion. Ask Him to make you passionate about what He loves and angry about what He hates.