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Listen while you read: "We Have An Anchor"1
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Psalm 119:53 – I become furious with the wicked, because they reject your instructions. (NLT)
Healthy anger is not only possible but also beneficial.
No one has the power to make me mad, but they can create the circumstances making the possibility greater. I get angry when I read of a parent who drives a vehicle into the lake to kill herself and her children. I get mad when someone steals something that I've worked hard to get. If my boss ignores the hard work that I've been doing for the last ten years and gives a promotion to some Johnny-come-lately, it frosts me. And if a doctor's office turns my account over to a collection agency without sending me a bill, my anger flares.
Thinking of all the foolish things that I've done or said because I was angry makes me wonder why God created this emotion. After all, if my body needs all the parts that He put there, it must also need all the emotions. I've learned that I can live without some body parts — a gall bladder being one of them. As all my body parts have a particular function, so do my emotions — anger among them.
Of all the things that I should get mad about, wickedness is one. The psalmist was furious with the wicked and what resulted from their wickedness. Jesus felt the same when He cast the merchants out of one of the temple courts. They were cheating people and preventing foreigners from worshipping.
The only healthy anger is that which reacts against wickedness. As a believer, it should upset us when we see evil acts: murder, theft, robbery, abuse, lying, etc. How we respond to such actions is just as important as the fact that they make us angry. Killing the unborn is reprehensible, but murdering the doctors who perform abortions is unacceptable.
Healthy anger will propel us toward legal and godly actions. It will stir in us the need to act. Turning our heads from wickedness won't make it go away. Repressed anger is dangerous, but so is accepting evil without acting.
When we witness wickedness, let's allow our anger to direct us to a godly response designed to bring about good.
Prayer: Father, guide us to healthy anger and godly responses when we witness evil around us. Amen.
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About the author:
Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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Well said Martin. Blessings.
Amen and Amen, Martin! Thanks for the timely caution. Blessings.
Amen Martin. I always find much prayer is needed to deal with this volatile emotion in a godly way!
Thank you, Martin, this devotion has helped me with questions I have about handling anger, so well put. Blessings.
Great devotional. Even Jesus turned over the tables in the synagogue because he knew that people were being cheated by selling stuff.
Wisdom from The Word! Thanks Martin, may anger be an encouragement to action in a positive way! Bless your faithfulness in following The Way!
(BC Canada)
Good morning and thank you for today’s devotion. I go to a Bible ministry in a local prison on Monday nights, and anger was one of our topics last night.
Prisoners have an interesting perspective on that subject.
Thanks, Martin, for another very thoughtful devotional. Healthy anger truly is something to strive for, especially in today’s world of happenings. Our Lord’s way of handling situations leads to the best results. Blessings for these writings you present.
Thank you very much for this devotional. I have just finished reading an excellent book that expands on these ideas. It is ‘Good and Angry’ by David Powlison. I wish I had learned about these biblical truths much earlier in my life.
Thank you always for your devotionals.
Good morning, Martin,
This is a great topic that everyone should think about their own reactions and ideas on anger. Why did God give us the emotion of anger?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the topic and inspiring others to think about what anger is in their life. Blessings.
Good morning, Martin.
Good words this morning. I can understand getting angry at times. I have that so often when I see the news. Thank you for making us think about anger.
All the best to you and yours.