Being Good and Angry!

Psalm 7:11 says: God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day.

We see in this verse that God gets angry (he “displays his wrath”). We also see that his anger is an everyday occurrence. This is not surprising because there is a lot that we humans do that would make God angry. An alphabetical list of common sins includes: 

• Adultery
• Blasphemy 
• Covetousness
• Dishonesty
• Envy
• Fornication 
• Greed
• Hatred
• Idolatry
• Judging
• Lusting
• Murder 
• Pride
• Resentment
• Stealing
• Unforgiveness
• Vanity
• Wickedness

...and the list could go on and on. But what Psalm 7:11 tells us about God’s anger is that he displays it in a way that is “righteous”. He judges our sins properly—identifying them for what they are—offenses against God and others. Unlike us, God does not ignore or excuse sin. He doesn’t “rename” sin and label them with less offensive terms such as: failures, faults, shortcomings, or mistakes. He calls a spade a spade. Sin is sin.

Notice that on the list of frequent sins, I did not include “anger.” It is clearly not a sin to be angry. In fact, if any of the above sins were committed by someone against you, it would certainly make you angry. But anger—if left unchecked and out-of-control—can lead us to commit some of the sins above. It’s interesting to note that all you have to do is add one letter to the word anger and look out! Danger!

Anger is an emotion that bubbles up within us not unlike lava in a volcano. Scientists who study this, known as “volcanologists” have discovered that magma chambers deep in the earth build up pressure until they reach the surface. The pressure of these chambers are released through “vents” that often result in eruptions of lava, ash and pyroclastic debris. The destructive capacity of these eruptions depends on the amount of pressure that builds up below the surface.

This description of volcanic activity can easily be compared to the increase of anger that takes place as life’s circumstances create stress and pressure within us. If we don’t have a healthy way to “vent” our anger, we will erupt and spew wreckage upon our co-workers, friends and family. It isn’t easy to control our anger, but it is possible.

Acknowledge your anger. Find the root cause. And release it appropriately. God allows for anger to exist so long as it is properly channeled. Pray for God to help you keep your cool. Seek His forgiveness (and others) when you blow up. Above all: Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-27).