Is It Right For You To Be Angry?

We know from the Bible that there can be a time and place for controlled anger, although we need to be extremely careful with it (Ja 1:20; Ep 4:26). The title of this article isn’t about whether it is ever right to be angry. It is from Jonah 4:4, “Then the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” Jonah was very unhappy and angry because God had been merciful toward Jonah’s enemies, the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh. It’s a shocking end to Jonah’s story, but do we feel and express similar things? Are we angry with God when He does something we don’t understand or like?

“Is it right for you to be angry” when God… sends rain on the just and unjust (Mt 5:45 God blesses the wicked and the righteous)? While it is true that Christians have spiritual blessings which non-Christians do not have (and will not have in eternity), physical blessings are often shared alike by God’s people and those who are not. It can be frustrating when we suffer in some way, but we see non-Christians not suffering. We can avoid anger by hyper-valuing our spiritual blessings (which others do not have) and by seeing God’s physical blessings as being potential attractive grace, even to unbelievers.

“Is it right for you to be angry” when God… forgives those who are openly sinful or deeply hurt us? Jonah was angry when God forgave the Ninevehites. God is “rich in mercy” (Ep 2:4) – we love that when we need it, but it may anger us and be hard to accept when He forgives (or we are told to forgive) someone who sinned against us. We can avoid this anger by remembering we were and are completely undeserving of God’s mercy and grace ourselves (Ep 2:1-6).

“Is it right for you to be angry” when God… allows us or loved ones to suffer? This is probably the #1 reason behind people leaving the Lord today. Suffering can be hard to accept and impossible to understand why it happens as it does. We can avoid anger by making our faith true trust in God that He knows what He is doing even when we don’t understand it. And how can we be angry when He promises us resurrection and eternal life? (Jn 11:25)

“Is it right for you to be angry” when God… tells us something is wrong or a sin? This is hard when we don’t understand why something is a sin, when we want to do it, our bodies crave it, or we see others doing it with seemingly no consequences. We can avoid anger by remembering that God is our Creator (Ge 1-3) and knows what is best for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually). Remember, what He says is always in our best interest (De 6:24; Jn 3:16).

“Is it right for you to be angry” when God… requires that we sacrifice something for Him? We may get stuck asking why God has us give up things that are important to us and do things that are hard. We may not always know why, but we can avoid anger by seeing that God sacrificed more for “me” than “I” will ever sacrifice for Him (Ro 5:8; 2 Co 5:21; Ga 1:4; Ep 5:2; 1 Pe 2:24; 1 Jn 4:10).    dd