An interesting discussion with a group of friends last night had me thinking. Our conversation was centred upon anger – that state of being that leaves none exempt. Beside a lively discussion on anger, the outcome and a healthy response, something else was brought up that encouraged serious thought. The thought - provoker was what we call righteous anger and we are often given license to practise it. Righteous anger can be defined as that state of being when one is chagrined because of wicked thoughts, vile deeds and fiendish attitudes.
I have often heard people quoting as an example of righteous anger Christ at the-cleansing-of-the-temple episode, where He drives out money-changers and merchants from the temple premises. He did that because these greedy men had no trouble destroying the sanctity of this place of worship. Quite thoughtlessly they relegated God to a position of insignificance if not non-existence with their trade and commerce. In quite a dramatic fashion Jesus turns over their tables, one of the gospel accounts records that he even made a whip of cords which he used to drive these men and their merchandise out.
In the very context of our day and age there is an unsettling abundance of wrong. Bonded laborers in a remote village; a spindly legged boy bearing the burden of supporting his poverty stricken household working in an unsafe environment for a paltry sum of money; these are but just a couple of examples of the injustices that have so ravaged our world. Our chagrined response to these galling situations could well be righteous anger. Considering that there is this genre of anger for which we have been given an allowance, can we also respond the way Jesus did? The answer to that question is an emphatic “No!” for the simple reason He is God incarnate and we are merely carnal.
Jesus Christ when he walked this earth was fully human while still being entirely divine. It is the divinity of Christ that is made manifest here. His anger was directed against the offense. Even at our best our anger (righteous or otherwise) stems from the deep reservoir called self and me. Our humanity blinds us or must I say prevents us from being able to distinguish between the offense and the offender. At some thin line our loathing for the wrong gets translated into our repugnance for the wrongdoer; something that the Christ would never have done even in the angry turning of the tables.
Our humanity curbs us from possessing righteous anger in its unalloyed and purest form. That being said, what do we do about all that is going awry in our world? We can’t turn a blind eye. We are called to action, prayerful action; But it would do us well to check out anger at the door before we act. I am not of the opinion that we aren’t to be angry, because we can. However we can be ineffective if we bring anger to the table because anger in our effort to redress can be more detrimental than helpful. We are called to stand for the truth and speak the truth but our challenge lies in doing it in love.
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4 comments:
I think this is a difficult issue to tackle. Because on one hand I agree that we cannot respond in the manner in which Christ did in this particular situation. For reasons given in the post.
However, why were we given this emotion---anger? It compels us to action, in some cases to our detriment and in other cases for the good of others.
The verse in Ephesians says, "In your anger, do not sin." Does that leave the door open for us to act on our anger and not sin? I am certain, and agree with you Esther, that 99.9% of the time if I were to act on my anger good or bad it would come back to how it affects me (selfish motives etc...) in some way shape or form.
The other problem is that our actions are judged by human standards. So while I might "clear the temple" with pure motives, man is left saying what they will. That guy is crazy or why on earth did he do that to us---and so on.
I guess I am torn on this thought--I believe we were given this emotion for a reason and to be used for His glory. And while these occasions may seem like a rarity, they will and do happen. BUT---I also agree that with myself I am trying to think of an instance where I did use it in a pure/Christlike manner and well...I can't think of one time where I succeeded in this. So perhaps point taken.
I agree that our anger is most often directed toward the wrongdoer. I too, have taken a moment to think about those few times I became angry:) and I can honestly say it was not solely directed toward the offense.
Thinking about whether or not our anger compels us to action, that is a hard thing for me to grasp as a direct result of anger. I tend to see anger as an indirect motivation and catalyst that compels us toward compassion for the "victim" which drives us to action. For example, the oppression of a people by the government causing starvation in that land, stirs anger toward that governing body, but it is the compassion for the hungry children of that land that leads toward a desire to help.
I liken it to the Law which exposes our sin, therefore, the emotion of anger exposes injustice, softening our hearts toward compassion, and eventually service, which we are all called to do.
Brian,I found the juxtaposition of a seeming paradox- Anger and Compassion - with the fitting illustration of the despotic government and hungry children very interesting.Thanks for sharing that thought
Mark, I understand that as Christians we shouldn't be morose and given to inaction. Sometimes under the garb of civility we don't act upon anger that does arise on account of injustice. Thanks for your comments.
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