Righteous Anger

Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.

           -Ephesians 4:26-27.

Is it wrong to be angry? No. Paul is not suggesting anger. He is not requesting anger. He is not saying anger is always the appropriate response. He says to be angry, but not to sin. It can be stinking easy to let anger grow into sin. If you still think that anger is not acceptable then hear this: Remember when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)? Remember when God told Moses to decapitate the people of Israel who worshipped another God (Numbers 25)? Remember when God’s wrath killed every firstborn Egyptian (Exodus 12)? Remember when God killed 50,000+ for looking into the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 6)? Remember when God destroyed the entire earth except for Noah, his family, and the animals (Genesis 6)? Remember when God says that many will prophesy and do good works in his name and yet will be condemned to hell (Matthew 7)? Remember when Jesus walked into the table and freaked out on the people for buying and selling in the church and flipped the tables (Matthew 21)? Now that we are all on the same page, hear this. There is a fine line between personal anger and righteous anger. All of these examples of God’s anger are 100% righteous anger. Righteous anger is anger that is justified. Personal anger is not justified. The bible is clear about what to do when someone personally sins against you personally (see Matthew 18:15-19). The bible is also clear about what to do when someone sins against God. Or when someone worships something before God. Or are fake followers of Christ that talk by his name, but don’t live by his name. Be angry. Anger is not a sin. Righteous anger is not a sin. There are things in this world that should make you angry. There are people who should make you angry. There are people in most churches who should make you angry. There are people who worship idols that should make you angry. There are fake Christians who talk the talk but don't walk the walk that should make you angry. But don’t let your anger crumble into sin, and don’t let anger fester, leaving a foothold for the devil. Righteous anger is a Godly and Christ-like attribute. So be angry, but do not sin.