Generally, I am not an angry person. It takes a lot to get my dander up. I don't use or even think cuss words in my mind, either while angry or when not. And if you asked my kids if I am an angry person, they would tell you that when they were growing up, if I ever used the words DAMN IT, at them, they knew then I was angry. It was a rare phrase for me.
But the day we learned of Charlie's death and how it had transpired, yes that day I was angry.
Not because I knew him. Actually, I really didn't know much about him. Not until he was murdered and I began to learn from those people I follow on YouTube that had known him. That had followed him. That had been influenced by his life during the short years he had lived. That had loved him.
And I believed that kind of anger I had that day, is what is called "righteous anger." So I looked that up on gotquestions.org to see what it is. I had known from the Bible that even Jesus had gotten angry when he overturned the tables in the temple and called it a "den of thieves' because of what was going on there.
Now I am not Jesus. But I wanted to be sure of what I was feeling that day because I know that I might have needed to repent if it wasn't.
On gotquestions.org they have quite a bit on the issue of anger. I am going to repost it in two parts so as not to give us too much at one time. Sometimes in my own studies I do have to divide what I am learning up because my brain needs time to process it that way-in parts.
And so this is today's post on it:
What does the Bible say about anger?
Handling anger is an important life skill. Christian counselors report that 50 percent of people who come in for counseling have problems dealing with anger. Anger can shatter communication and tear apart relationships, and it ruins both the joy and health of many. Sadly, people tend to justify their anger instead of accepting responsibility for it. Everyone struggles, to varying degrees, with anger. Thankfully, God’s Word contains principles regarding how to handle anger in a godly manner, and how to overcome sinful anger.
Anger is not always sin. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves, often called “righteous indignation.” God is angry (Psalm 7:11; Mark 3:5), and it is acceptable for believers to be angry (Ephesians 4:26). Two Greek words in the New Testament are translated as “anger.” One means “passion, energy” and the other means “agitated, boiling.” Biblically, anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems. Examples of biblical anger include David’s being upset over hearing Nathan the prophet sharing an injustice (2 Samuel 12) and Jesus’ anger over how some of the Jews had defiled worship at God’s temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-18). Notice that neither of these examples of anger involved self-defense, but a defense of others or of a principle.
That being said, it is important to recognize that anger at an injustice inflicted against oneself is also appropriate. Anger has been said to be a warning flag—it alerts us to those times when others are attempting to or have violated our boundaries. God cares for each individual. Sadly, we do not always stand up for one another, meaning that sometimes we must stand up for ourselves. This is especially important when considering the anger that victims often feel. Victims of abuse, violent crime, or the like have been violated in some way. Often while experiencing the trauma, they do not experience anger. Later, in working through the trauma, anger will emerge. For a victim to reach a place of true health and forgiveness, he or she must first accept the trauma for what it was. In order to fully accept that an act was unjust, one must sometimes experience anger. Because of the complexities of trauma recovery, this anger is often not short-lived, particularly for victims of abuse. Victims should process through their anger and come to a place of acceptance, even forgiveness. This is often a long journey. As God heals the victim, the victim’s emotions, including anger, will follow. Allowing the process to occur does not mean the person is living in sin.
Anger can become sinful when it is motivated by pride (James 1:20), when it is unproductive and thus distorts God’s purposes (1 Corinthians 10:31), or when anger is allowed to linger (Ephesians 4:26-27). One obvious sign that anger has turned to sin is when, instead of attacking the problem at hand, we attack the wrongdoer. Ephesians 4:15-19 says we are to speak the truth in love and use our words to build others up, not allow rotten or destructive words to pour from our lips. Unfortunately, this poisonous speech is a common characteristic of fallen man (Romans 3:13-14). Anger becomes sin when it is allowed to boil over without restraint, resulting in a scenario in which hurt is multiplied (Proverbs 29:11), leaving devastation in its wake. Often, the consequences of out-of-control anger are irreparable. Anger also becomes sin when the angry one refuses to be pacified, holds a grudge, or keeps it all inside (Ephesians 4:26-27). This can cause depression and irritability over little things, which are often unrelated to the underlying problem.
We can handle anger biblically by recognizing and admitting our prideful anger and/or our wrong handling of anger as sin (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). This confession should be both to God and to those who have been hurt by our anger. We should not minimize the sin by excusing it or blame-shifting.
We can handle anger biblically by seeing God in the trial. This is especially important when people have done something to offend us. James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28-29, and Genesis 50:20 all point to the fact that God is sovereign over every circumstance and person that crosses our path. Nothing happens to us that He does not cause or allow. Though God does allow bad things to happen, He is always faithful to redeem them for the good of His people. God is a good God (Psalm 145:8, 9, 17). Reflecting on this truth until it moves from our heads to our hearts will alter how we react to those who hurt us.
We can handle anger biblically by making room for God’s wrath. This is especially important in cases of injustice, when “evil” men abuse “innocent” people. Genesis 50:19 and Romans 12:19 both tell us to not play God. God is righteous and just, and we can trust Him who knows all and sees all to act justly (Genesis 18:25).
We can handle anger biblically by returning good for evil (Genesis 50:21; Romans 12:21). This is key to converting our anger into love. As our actions flow from our hearts, so also our hearts can be altered by our actions (Matthew 5:43-48). That is, we can change our feelings toward another by changing how we choose to act toward that person.
(source: gotquestions.org)
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My anger that day was directed, as I said yesterday, towards the evil that had been done to a man of faith. A man that was trying to make things better for our country. For a family that had lost their father and husband.
For a country where evil is rampant.
Where people can't have their own beliefs without criticism or worse yet, violence.
Where people laughed at a man that had passed away and had called him decisive.
Where a young man just barely into his adult years, decided that it was worth whatever consequences he had to face in order to take this man from everyone that loved him.
I was and am still angry about the injustice of it.
And I believe that is what is called "righteous anger" for me.
These are the things that made me angry.
But I also believe what Genesis 50:20 says. It reminds us that what the enemy meant for evil, God will bring good.
And He is.
That young man whose life now hangs in the balance in one way or another may have had his say. But what he did has been made known all over the internet and people are talking about what Charlie Kirk did. How he had lived his life for God, his family, his country and for the scores of college aged people that he influenced for the good.
He may have taken pleasure that he had shut him up.
But it has made many people resolved to take up his banner.
And as we know, God's Word will never be shut up.
Thanks for coming by today, Friends.
I will repost the rest of what is on questions.org on Monday.
And perhaps answer the question of forgiveness for a man that committed murder.
God bless!
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