Is there such thing as righteous anger? And when?
Thank you!
”Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” -James 1:19-20
The Bible tells us, in several places, essentially that we should try not to be angry. But we are also told, as has been posted here already, to “be angry, and do not sin”. So the Lord knows we Will feel anger, but He tells us how to do so.
My Bible has a devotional reading to go along with the verse I used; it explains- “Anger is energy released to defend something, and therefore, it is not intrinsically wrong. Jesus, for example, gets justifiably angry at injustice and abuse. There is, however, an anger that is sinful. It is rooted in pride. This more common kind of anger flares up quickly, leads us to do things we regret, and comes from our need to defend our own self-image.”
So can we be “righteously angry”? I’m not sure that we can, in our flesh. Our anger certainly doesn’t work in the same way as the Lord’s. Can we sometimes be Justifiably angry at the same things Jesus was angry about? I think so- because when we are born again, we are then in Christ, as he is in us; therefore our spirits are grieved, burdened, and yes, angry, about the same injustices, the same abuse, the same wrongdoing that angers the Lord.