"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, ESV
You see, our anger produces a lot of things. We can grow it into hatred or wrath, we can physically emote our anger and break things, we can verbally show it and hurt people. However, the one thing that will never, ever, ever be produced by any angry person on this planet is God's righteousness.
Yeah, friend, I'm talking to you and me and everyone else... we're not capable of that.
And you say, "Wait, if I'm angry about the right and righteous thing, then surely that would bring forth God's righteousness, right?" No. If we were able to bring about God's righteousness, then we would be able to affect change from His throne. We don't have that ability. It states in Genesis that "By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done (Genesis 2:2a)." He is done with His work, including al the decisions that need to be made. Remember, He sees all of time, all at once, and He knows what choices we have made already, all the way to the end of days. We cannot change His will, His plans, His anything. Also remember that He wants us... but He certainly doesn't need us.
Our anger is often flared in many circumstances, and our wrath and rage come up in different ways at times, but the one thing I'll ask that we think about right now is the reaction in the gut. I'm certain you assumed I would refer to the heart, but the gut is where I want to start with this, because there's a feeling we all get sometimes when we know we're wrong. That feeling is guttural, and it is noticeable, and it is not something that can be ignored. Anger is the same way, except it causes the adrenaline to flow. Muscles begin to expand and contract, and the heartbeat quickens. These are effects that are FELT by any person, and the rise in blood pressure that can redden a face (like mine) is not only felt by additional heat in the face of the angry person, but it is SEEN by the people around that person! Visible and tangible reactions, all of which are not capable of being ignored in the moment your anger flares.
Why do I point this out? This is where I get to the heart of the matter being a matter of the heart. If we become angry in a heated moment, I would say that it is probably something almost involuntary. After all, we know right from wrong, and as Christians we are bound to stand up for what is right, and against what is wrong. However, how we handle that anger is up to us. Our first and best response, as with anything, is to take it to the Lord in prayer. However, that is not always what happens, is it?
No - we tend to find ways to justify the anger, then enhance it just a smidge. We classify it as being on the "right side" of the argument, and then we have laid summary judgment on anyone opposed to us, without even saying so. We find fuel for the fire, kindle it a little bit, and justify it all as being "right" or "righteous" in our own limited view. And would you like to know what the opposition is doing? The exact same thing. Yeah, that's the beauty of the system where everyone has an opinion, and everyone's voice matters. We all get to decide that our "side" is the right one, and that God is on our "side," and not on the other.
But did it ever occur to anyone that God might be on His very own side? It should... because His decision, His next move, His choice about what will happen next, whether we agree or like it or accept it or not... that IS the RIGHT and RIGHTEOUS one. Period.
We don't accomplish His righteousness through our anger, friends. We get to be a part of it through prayer.
God bless you all!!!
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