The Gift of Anger
The seventh word in Paul's sonnet of divine love is another negative. Love, says Paul, is not easily angered.
We tend to view anger purely as a negative emotion, but let's remember that anger is an emotion given to us by God. Made in his image, we are hard wired with anger.
Anger is an emotion of displeasure that rises in our hearts at some wrongdoing and which leads to some action.
There is such a thing as righteous anger. "God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day." (Psalm 7:11). When God looks at injustice he is filled with righteous anger. When Jesus saw that God's house had been turned into a den of thieves he was angry.
Righteous anger leads to action. God will one day punish all unrepentant wrongdoers on a day that is called "the day of his wrath". (Romans 2:5).
Anger is an emotion of displeasure that rises in our hearts at wrongdoing which leads to some action.
A child runs across the street without looking. One emotion that passes through the mind of the parent is anger. That anger leads to disciplinary action that is for the good of the child. Without anger, the child would not be disciplined and would not learn that roads must be treated with great caution.
Without anger few injustices in the world would be righted.
There is nothing per se wrong with anger. To the contrary it is a valuable gift from God.
Pure Anger
So what is wrong with our anger? Only God's anger is pure. All human anger is mixed. Human anger is mingled with impatience or excess. The parent disciplines the child instantly without "counting to ten." And as a consequence goes over the top in their discipline.
Herein lies the problem with human anger: it is always mixed with either impatience or excess or both.
We read in Mark 11 that the day before Jesus cleansed the temple he looked around at everything but decided it was too late in the day to act (verse 11) and so left the city for the night. He was going to act but decided to wait until tomorrow. Righteous anger can wait to the next day.
The following day, he methodically cleansed the temple - chased out the money lenders and scattered their wares. A dramatic action, but we do not see Jesus red-faced in rage. We see a divine Jesus thoughtfully but purposefully - and no doubt with pure anger showing on his human face - clearing out the merchants and their wares.
This is pure anger. Jesus was roused inside by the injustice of what was taking place. He decided to act. He took his time. He acted. Right was done.
Our Anger
So often, our anger is not like God's. So often our anger, boiling like a kettle, boils over like a pot. Instead of a slow response to injustice, "since it was already late he went out to Bethany with the Twelve" we can so easily respond quickly. Mobs and riots are testimony to human all-too-quick anger. Parental outbursts are testimony to sinful human anger. Domestic abuse is testimony to human anger.
Anger is in the Heart
Ultimately, anger is an emotion that takes place in the heart. For this reason "cool as cucumber" people can be just as filled with anger as the "red-hot" types. And consequently anger can be expressed either in hot excess or in steely-cold revenge. Serene characters who seethe inwardly with anger may express their anger in calculated cool revenge rather than in infantile violence.
Sinful anger is a temptation to every fallen human being.
Summing it all Up
If we truly love someone, as God loves us, we may sometimes be angry with their behaviour. But if we love as God loves, that anger will be directed, focussed, channelled and self-controlled. Action may wait until tomorrow, or even next week, or perhaps next year.
Time gives anger the opportunity to perceive the best course of action. Almost never is hasty action in the face of injustice correct. (Immediate action to correct a child's behaviour, may, perhaps be the exception. A prolonged time between offence and corrective behaviour may ruin the effectiveness of the dicipline - telling a child off immediately after running across the road is far more effective than sitting them down the next day, by which time the corrective opportunity may have been lost).
"Love... is not easily angered", says Paul. Not easily provoked. Not quickly provoked.
When our children, spouses and brothers and sisters in Christ fail us or even do us wrong, may we pause and count to a million. Let us remember that we have made the same mistakes too. May we remember above all the remarkable patience of our God.
And as we hit the pause button maybe we'll decide to do nothing more. Or if we will decide to act, it will now be with some persective and in a peaceful spirit, and calmly and respectfully.
As I write this, I lament to myself, "It is so easy to describe a Christlike attitude to anger, but it is so much harder to excercise it." Without the power of Christ's Spirit we can never be long-suffering.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
as I seek the lost to win,
and may they forget the channel,
seeing only him.
May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
live in me from day to day,
by his love and pow'r controlling
all I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly
in my heart from hour to hour,
so that all may see I triumph
only through his pow'r.
May the peace of God my Father
rule my life in ev'rything,
that I may be calm to comfort
sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me
as the waters fill the sea;
him exalting, self abasing:
this is victory.
May I run the race before me,
strong and brave to face the foe,
looking only unto Jesus
as I onward go.
as I seek the lost to win,
and may they forget the channel,
seeing only him.
You can sing along HERE.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our ever-patient Father in heaven,
We thank you for your loving long-suffering with us. We are truly amazed when we consider how many times we have let you down, and yet you have not given up on us.
By the Spirit of Christ who dwells within us, help us to become more like you who are "slow to anger and abounding in love."
Forgive us when we have been easily angered and teach us what it is to be long-suffering with our brothers and sisters, out family members, our neighbours and our world.
We thank you that the Lord Jesus bore the righteous anger of God against our sin, so that we could be forgiven and free.
We pray these things in Jesus' Name,
Amen
Photo by Chermiti Mohamed on Unsplash
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