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Should we renounce anger? Yes! Jesus does not exhort us to get angry, as if anger were a good motivator or energy for positive action. (This is the kind of thing that many Psychologists and “pop psychologists” in in our culture today teach.)
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry… Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen… Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:26, 29 31-32
The context of Ephesians 4:25-32 is exactly the opposite of it is okay to get angry! Paul is saying when we feel angry, don’t act on it! Don’t hold onto anger and don’t let it motivate us because it easily leads to unwholesome talk and other sins. It gives the devil a foothold in our lives. It grieves the Holy Spirit. It harms me and others.
- What is my mission? My mission, given to me by Jesus, is to love. That is it. That should be my day. That should be my motivation. Love should be my passionate focus.
- “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone…” Romans 12:17-19
- “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-18, 20-21)
- Instead of getting angry at people Paul teaches us to, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
An honest reading of the Bible’s wisdom on anger would never come away with this advice that anger is good! The consistent counsel in Scripture about anger is to be careful with it and to set it aside.
Jesus Quotes and God Thoughts 
When I feel angry I take it as a sign that I am doing something wrong and try to figure out what that is. I do need the Holy Spirit’s help in all of that.
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That is the truth. Self control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. I need more of it for sure.
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I’m not sure I have the same definition of “anger” as you do. Anger that incudes loss of emotional control, stomping feet, throwing a tantrum. I agree. Anger when I see God mocked, children abused, human trafficking, buildings burned – that’s another matter. Maybe there is a better word. That is my interpretation of “Be angry and sin not.” Be angry and do something constructive, not destructive.
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Howdy Oneta, I understand the issue. The word normally used in the Bible to refer to anger is an emotion considered sinful. Psalm 37:8, for example, commands: “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!” Jesus paralleled anger with murder when he said that “every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment” (Mt 5:22) just as if he had actually committed the murder he felt in his angry heart. Ephesians 4:31 and Colossians 3:8 both list anger, along with bitterness, wrath, malice, and slander, as attitudes which Christians must rid themselves of once and for all. In his list of attributes for a bishop or pastor of a church, the apostle Paul said that a Christian leader should not be prone to anger, that is, easily provoked (Ti 1:7).
The other might be better known as “righteous indignation”.
“Righteous indignation” refers to the extreme displeasure of a holy heart unable to tolerate sin of any kind. The anger of God contains this element: man should be good, yet he sins—and God is angry “because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them” (Dt 29:25, 26). It was in that sense also that Moses’ anger burned on Mt Sinai and caused him to smash the tablets of the Law on the ground when he saw the golden calf and Israel’s idolatry (Ex 32:19).
Thanks for the insight. Just my thoughts.
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Good thoughts, put together with lots of scripture. There is a current saying “to hate the sin but not the sinner.” That might be a part of the issue also. The Christians I have known have had deep compassion or the sinner, even though they have been judged as harsh by those who believe they were legalistic. For instance, after my granddad was saved he wouldn’t touch alcohol in any shape or form, but I know of him often letting a drunk come into his home to sleep it off and make enough money to hit the road again. I think that is hating the sin but not the sinner. I got on another subjec there didn’t I. But it has some of the same fruits developed in a Christian’s life by the Holy Spirit.
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Thanks. Great insight. Blessings for an amazing day.
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My words are not the essential thing.
My actions are not the essential thing.
My attitude is not the essential thing
Love is the essential thing. Until I get that right, no other thing will be right.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn 4:10, KJV)
I wrote this right before I read your article. Do you think it might fit here?
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Wonderful! Thanks. Very well said.
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May we set aside anger
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