Dear LifeSpring Family,
"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath" Eph. 4:26 KJV
Recently, I have been listening to Tim Keller’s podcast from his early days as the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York.
The podcast I was listening to was his preaching series on the book of Ephesians. I found that this particular sermon on the emotion of anger spoke to me and challenged my beliefs. Pastor Keller said that many of us have been conditioned to view anger as bad, unchristian, or, at the very least, unhelpful. He went on to say that anger in itself is not bad, unchristian, or unhelpful in God’s Kingdom. The fact that I have been conditioned by the Greek mindset to view anger in a negative light does not change how God views anger in His Kingdom.
In the bible, we see our Lord Jesus Christ’s anger and we see God being angry. In fact, God is angry every day.
In Psalm 7:11 it says,
God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
But if the anger in us is not directed at what angers our Abba Father, it has the high potential of leading us towards sin. I have allowed my anger to sin actively (vax versus unvax) or passively by not wanting to make a small change in my lifestyle so that I can donate to the water wells and Ukraine.
So, anger towards the things of God that moves us towards prayer, action, and generosity is good, Christian, and helpful in our maturity in Christ. It is what God requires of me and you. Shalom!