Is There Such A Thing As Holy Anger? - Christian Perspectives

Anger, we all have bouts with it, then we’ll justify why we have it. Some people will say “that’s just the way I am.” Some Christians say that they have “holy anger.” The question we want to answer today is this; is there such a thing as holy anger?

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  James 1:19

My wife told me recently that I shy away from conflict compared to how I handled it when younger. Back in those days, I would hit it head-on. I told her that I am getting wiser in my latter years.

In the past when I hit conflict head-on, I would often get myself in trouble because of it. I am learning to listen, you know, as in to not speak. Listening gives others a chance to say their piece.

I think that maybe James should have said quick to listen, slow to speak, and plenty of time to think about it. That is the approach I have tried to put in place. I’m not sure how much I have accomplished doing it that way. But I can tell you that life certainly has been better for me. And to the people I’ve tried to make my point with.

Next there is the other thing that James mentioned. You know, the anger thing. I’ve heard people say it’s ok to get angry. Of course, some say they are exhibiting godly anger or holy anger.

Who Has The Right To Exhibit Holy Anger?

There is only one that I know of, who can truly have godly anger, and that would be God.  The Lord is not condoning anger in this verse. Look what it says in the next verse,

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:20

When we read verses 19 and 20, it is obvious that anger and righteousness are definitely on different ends of the spectrum.

I know there are times that you will get angry, we all do. When that happens though, we must get past it quickly.

In the book of Ephesians, we are given a time limit as to how long we can be angry. If you let it control you or if you hang on to it too long, look out! You will be opening yourself up to the devil.

Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27

So the question we are looking to answer is this. Is there such a thing as holy anger? I’d say the answer is possibly yes, but not for us. Only God has the right to get angry.

A related post you may be interested in reading is How Have People Aroused God’s Anger?

For you and me, anger will happen. When it does, we must deal with it and get over it quickly. We also must avoid it as much as we can.

The Alternative to Anger

In Galatians 5, there are two lists. The first, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear. Then there are 15 things mentioned that we must stay away from and one of them is anger.

The second list is the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is the goal of life list for every Christian.

Lord, help us to curb all anger so our lives produce the righteousness you desire.

Read the first chapter of James here.

You would enjoy reading the cornerstone post on discipleship called How To Be An Effective Devoted Disciple Of Jesus

Featured Image Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

To receive each new devotional post delivered to your inbox, subscribe below by giving us your first name and email address.