I remember David Powlison suggesting that the most basic definition of anger is: “I don’t like that.” We get angry because something is happening to us or to others that we don’t want to happen. We get angry when people cut us off on the interstate. We get angry when we are put on hold for thirty minutes with our credit card company. We get angry when a friend betrays us and gossips about us to other friends. We get angry when we hear about gross injustice or of innocent children starving. There is much in the world that we should get angry about. There is also much in our anger that is often self-centered, petty, or impulsive.
Anger is one of God’s attributes that we, as humans created in God’s image, share. God gets angry when he sees the nation of Israel cheating the poor in their community (Isaiah 1:15-17). In fact, sometimes God is angry because we are not angry enough. God says he plans to judge Israel in Isaiah 1 precisely because they are apathetic - they don’t care about the injustices that are happening in their community. The difference between our anger and God’s anger is that God is always righteous in his anger. God always has the full picture. God is never petty, or vengeful, or impulsive. God’s anger always moves toward good. Our anger does not.
God is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). In turn, we are also called to be slow with our anger (James 1:19).
In the last newsletter I quoted George Ladd who said that “the life which Christ came to bring us is the life of God’s kingdom.” If this is true and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is the fullest picture of life in the kingdom of God then one question is: what does anger look like in God’s kingdom?
Anger is the first case study that Jesus takes up in Matthew 5. In verse 21 he says, “You have heard that it was said in ancient times, “You shall not murder”…but I say to you, ‘If you are angry with a brother (or sister) you will be liable to judgment.’” We don’t have enough time here to look at everything Jesus says about anger. But I noticed two primary ideas.
Jesus clearly wants us to begin to root out anger in our hearts and not just in our actions. Murder is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to anger. It is the last stage. But Jesus wants us to root out anger long before it comes close to that final stage. Anger, insults, and condemnation are all steps along the way (5:22). When we cancel someone as a human being we are getting fairly close to murdering them in our hearts.
The first step Jesus gives in rooting out anger is to deal with it quickly. He gives two examples. The first is, if you are at the Temple giving your offering (which is similar to our church services but not exact) and you remember someone has something against you, stop what you are doing and go reconcile. The second example is if someone is taking you to court, reconcile the matter before you get there. The point seems to be that anger needs to be dealt with quickly. This is similar to Paul’s wisdom in Ephesians 4 about not “letting the sun go down on your anger.” Don’t let it fester. Don’t let bitterness set in. Don’t nurse a grudge.
The life of the kingdom of Jesus is as interested in the interior of our hearts as the exterior of our actions. We see this idea repeated over and again in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is after our hearts.
You will get angry. I promise. Anger happens. And as I said above, some things are worthy of our anger. There is much that is wrong in the world. But there is also much to our anger that adds to that wrong. Jesus wants us to learn, with his help, to root out the anger that is selfish and petty and based on our own self-importance. He also wants us to reconcile as quickly and as often as possible.
One habit that followers of Jesus have used for centuries is called the daily examen. All it means is that at the end of the day take a few moments to think through your day. Where did you get angry? What caused that anger? Did you feel snubbed, forgotten, neglected, used? How did you respond? Was your anger justified? Is reconciliation possible?
The practice of asking these types of questions will help us figure out where anger is in our lives. To be honest, just being aware is a huge step in the right direction. Then we can bring our anger to God in prayer. And ask the Spirit to help us have the courage to take whatever next step we need to take.
Our world certainly needs less petty, impulsive, self-absorbed anger. And the world needs the right kind of anger to lead to productive, constructive change and not simply more yelling. May God transform even our anger into work for good.
Grace and peace,
Doug
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