Righteous Anger
by Randy Chambers, 2021-09-16
John 2:15-17, NIV: So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all
from the temple area...To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here!
How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered
that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."
You may have heard someone say, "Jesus got angry." And so He did. Jesus was
angry when people carelessly took God for granted and defiled His name by their
actions. Jesus was angry when people mistreated, misused and mislead others.
Jesus was angered by religious leaders who would "load people down with burdens
they can hardly carry," while they themselves would "not lift one finger to help
them." Jesus did get angry. But His anger was on behalf of God and others--it was
a righteous anger--an anger of greater purpose than His own need to be
vindicated. This is often not the case for someone who uses the fact that Jesus
was angry, to excuse a perceived right to be angry also. God's Word tells us to
"Be angry, and do not sin." When self is at the center of anger, sin is bound to
be present. It would be good for us to be angry for a cause greater than
ourselves, and certainly wise never to justify selfish anger by pointing a
finger at the justifiable anger of our Lord.
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