The World, the Christian, and Anger… Is it okay when Christians become angry at what they see occurring around them? I confess to getting pretty angry at times. How about you?
The following thoughts aren’t mine. They are derived from a section in Ian Hamilton’s Commentary on Ephesians (Pages 176, 177). I think Hamilton’s observations are helpful in light of what we’re seeing around the world at time of writing. I certainly need to take note.
Be Angry at Sin
The heading says it all. Hamilton tells us that there is such a thing as righteous anger. He writes,
Likeness to God will mean that we share His anger at what sin has done in His good creation. Where we see social and political injustice, the iniquity of abortion and euthanasia, the sexual exploitation of women and children, and the arrogance of power and wealth, we have a God-given right to be angry. Where we encounter hypocrisy and unbelief in the life of Christ’s church, a lack of anger would be a sign of our indifference and perhaps complicity in those sins…The Christian life is never to be stoically indifferent to the trampling of God’s truth in society and in the church.
However…there’s always a BUT
There is always a BUT (isn’t there?) and the devil is in the details. Hamilton notes that Paul recognized “the ever-present activity of the devil in the life of the church.” He tells them not to let the sun go down on their wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1Peter 5:8
Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Eph 6:11
According to Hamilton,
One of the ways the devil insinuates himself into the life of the church is when Christians allow righteous anger to breed a resentful spirit or when they nurse unrighteous anger so that it breeds an arrogant spirit in them. Both of these give the devil and opportunity to sow discord and division among the members of the body.
Not only that, when we nurse our anger, our Christian witness inevitably suffers and we grieve the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers always take notice. This is something I need to guard against in my life. I post it here primarily as an exercise and reminder to myself. But perhaps Hamilton’s advice will be helpful to others as well.
Maranatha!
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