Go Ahead, Get Good and Angry

Is there a good angry? There is I was reminded of this in James 1:19-20 where at first glance you may think you should not get angry.

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

There are a lot of good bits of information in these two verses. The first of course is being quick to listen and slow to speak. It seems like listening is a lost art today. To be a good listener first have to care and second not be distracted. Practice being a good listener today.

Second it says slow to get angry. How many need to take that advice? Far to often people fly of the handle way to quickly.

The third and final point I take from these two verses is that it does not say not to get angry. It says slow to anger, this means to think about it. It also says that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. That must mean there is a righteous anger. Believe it or not there is because Jesus who never sinned got angry. The most obvious example is when he went into the temple and over threw the tables. Below I found what I will call 6 steps to good anger. I hope you will find them beneficial.

1) His anger had the proper motivation. In other words, He was angry for the right reasons. Jesus’ anger did not arise from petty arguments or personal slights against Him. There was no selfishness involved.

2) His anger had the proper focus. He was not angry at God or at the “weaknesses” of others. His anger targeted sinful behavior and true injustice.

3) His anger had the proper supplement. Mark 3:5 says that His anger was attended by grief over the Pharisees’ lack of faith. Jesus’ anger stemmed from love for the Pharisees and concern for their spiritual condition. It had nothing to do with hatred or ill will.

4) His anger had the proper control. Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. The temple leaders did not like His cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:47), but He had done nothing sinful. He controlled His emotions; His emotions did not control Him.

5) His anger had the proper duration. He did not allow His anger to turn into bitterness; He did not hold grudges. He dealt with each situation properly, and He handled anger in good time.

6) His anger had the proper result. Jesus’ anger had the inevitable consequence of godly action. Jesus’ anger, as with all His emotions, was held in check by the Word of God; thus, Jesus’ response was always to accomplish God’s will.