Unrighteous Anger

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Matthew 5:21-26

There is righteous anger. Anger is not always sinful. (Eph 4:26) In fact, God’s wrath is his righteous anger over sin and sinners who do not repent and turn to him through Christ for forgiveness. They stand condemned and will face the consequences of their rebellious sin. Also, Jesus was angry at the money changers and twice cleared the temple area that they were using to hawk their wares. (John 2:13-16; Matt 21:12-17). Jesus was angry at the abuse of the area by the money changers as they misused it for greedy gain. Further, they set up their tables in the court of the Gentiles effectively pushing them out of the area permitted for them to worship.
 
One pastor said that anger is our response when something that we love is being attacked or destroyed[1]  Anger can be a righteous emotion when someone we love is being attacked. God is jealous for his glory because he alone is worthy of praise and anything else that is worshipped takes away from the glory he alone deserves. God is angry when people disobey and disregard him through sin. Likewise, if my wife or children are being attacked or abused, I am righteously angry about their mistreatment. The Temple in the Old Testament was the place where God manifested his presence, and the place people were commanded to worship. By the money changers filling that area they effectively cut off people who had come to seek God.
 
Unfortunately, almost all my anger is the unrighteous kind. I get angry at the kids for being too loud (I love my peace and quiet). I get angry at Jenn for moving my things and I cannot find them (I love order and familiarity plus typically I misplaced it!). I could go on with a list of my sins, but you already know how sinful we all are, including me! The point being, when we are angry that is telling us something about what is going on in our hearts and usually something we love is being attacked. When dealing with anger you need to address the “sin beneath the sin.” Yes, unrighteous anger is a sin, but there is also a sinful desire that is motivating that anger and we need to address that too if we are going to see our hearts change. We need to understand and confess what is motivating that anger and often that is figuring out what we love that we feel is under attack. This is a lifelong process and learning to understand what motivates your sin helps you get to the root of those sin issues.

[1] Dr. Timothy Keller in his sermon, “The Healing of Anger.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v-2ewGCQB4