Annoyance. Irritation. Anger. Rage. Fury.
How many times a day do you find yourself indulging in one of these states of mind?
Do you ever feel like you’re just angry all the time?
It’s often an escalating experience. Something annoys me. My husband didn’t put something where it belongs. If I dwell on that, it can ramp up to irritation. He NEVER puts things where they belong! (Obviously not true, but that’s what I’m telling myself.)
If we’re good and irritated, it might not take too much to escalate to full-blown anger, possibly directed toward someone other than who irritated us in the first place, and possibly on a completely different topic. And what comes out of our mouth might sound a lot like rage. Furious blind rage, in some cases, and words that have no business being uttered.
Can you relate?
Most of our annoyances and irritations and even anger are all about one thing. Little old me, not liking the way things are.
That guy cut me off!
Why does this garbage disposal never work properly?
Our insurance premium is how much!?
Our grievances, our feelings, our wants not being met or on our timetable, or the way we wanted them met. Me me me.
Of course we can acknowledge that someone (often a loved one) isn’t stepping up — but do we have to be so ticked off about it?
But it’s righteous anger!
In his book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges has a whole chapter on anger. Because as much as we like to think we’re “righteously angry,” most of the time we’re just selfishly angry. We aren’t getting our way.
Nevertheless, what about those things deserving of righteous anger?
Injustice in the world
Things politicians say and do… and things they should say and do but don’t
Corruption (everywhere, it seems) involving our tax dollars
War… and arguments about war
Depraved criminals hurting innocents
Increasing evil in the world
We could go on and on. There is no shortage of things to anger us. Thanks to media (social and otherwise) there is also no shortage of people telling us how angry we should be, as Chris Martin notes in this discussion of what we’re angry about:
What is it? Does it feel small and personal? Does it feel big and global? Does it feel within your grasp to affect or totally and frustratingly out of your control?
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter what it is.
The bigger question is this: Do you have faith that God can handle the object of your anger?
Do you have the faith to suppress your rage, no matter how righteous it may be? Do you have courage to trust that the God of your salvation is also a God of justice?
It isn’t (always) wrong to be angry—“righteous anger” is real. But, sometimes we are angry and wrong at the same time. Sometimes we can be in the wrong even if we are angry about the right things.
It is often, in fact, wrong to be angry even about the right things.
What God says about this
Chris was inspired to write about this as he studied Psalm 37, which has long been a favorite of mine as well. Let’s take a quick peek at what it says about your anger:
Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. — Psalm 37:1-2
Do you trust God to deal with evildoers? He has said He will. If you trust that He is good and sovereign, what should you be doing instead?
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. — Psalm 37:7-8
When God repeats something, you know it is important. Do not fret because of evildoers — that’s three mentions within just a few verses. More things to do:
Rest in Him
Wait patiently for Him to act
Cease from anger
Forsake wrath
And then He graciously tells you exactly why you can let Him handle it:
For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. — Psalm 37:9-11
Who you gonna call
It might be difficult to let go of the anger, especially if hurt is involved. If you were unrighteously hurt, you may experience righteous anger over it. But erupting yourself does not glorify your Father.
As Chris notes, it’s never wrong to set aside anger in favor of faith, but it isn’t always easy:
It takes immense courage and humility to take whatever rage we have against evildoers — of the local or cosmic variety — and entrust their fates to the God of the universe.
What better place to take every annoyance, irritation, everything that causes anger to well up in us, threatening to erupt into rage — than to the arms of our Heavenly Father.
Surely nothing pleases Him more than the obedient humility of His loving children acknowledging He is the One who puts all things right.
Do you have enough faith to suppress your rage?
So what are you angry about?
Go see your Father.