So what’s wrong with anger? Righteous anger is not always wrong and the Bible shows many examples of anger. Ever heard of the “Wrath of God?"
Jesus, using a whip, expelled all the money changers from the temple grounds for wicked profiteering. According to the account, he went about turning tables and telling them in no uncertain terms to “get out!"
12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matthew 21:12
Or the time he said a few strong words to scribes and pharisees for wicked behavior and hypocrisy:
“You snakes! You brood of vipers!
How will you escape being condemned to hell?"
- Matthew 23:33
The problem is when unrighteous anger results in physical or verbal aggression, usually over stupid reasons, real or perceived. In my view, getting angry over an unkind finger gesture in traffic is much different than getting angry over a preventable tragedy such as in the case of drunk driving that may cause loss of innocent lives.
Unrighteous anger is not justified. It’s something to keep under control or eradicated from our hearts altogether. Bottled up unrighteous anger can cause emotional and physical damage to all involved and even unspeakable tragedies as in the case of Virgina Tech, Columbine and Trolley Square shootings.
Unrighteous anger feeds hatred. Unrighteous anger also blinds common sense.
Next time you find yourself getting angry over someone or something, ask yourself if what you’re getting angry over is justified based on moral, ethical, legal and religious principles. What would be the negative or positive consequences if you acted on your anger? Will things get better or worse for all involved, yourself, your family, your friends?
Count to 10. Go for a walk. Take a deep breath and realize that in this life, people and situations are bound to make you angry at one time or another. We have no control over what other people do and say to us but we should exercise self-control over how we react to things and think about the consequences of our actions.
Most things that people usually get angry over tend to be trivial and don’t justify acts of violence. If you must be angry over something, hopefully it’s something that will really matter 10-100 years from now.
