So many people make the wrong assumption that getting mad or angry is sin in itself. Because of this, they think that Christians should be quiet, always accepting, and even naïve.
Some Christians even make that wrong assumption and do their best to keep their mouths silent on issues they should be speaking against. They allow life to pass them by and call it "kindness." They allow people to abuse them and call it "loving thy neighbor."
Friends, we Christians ought to know that we can be mad or angry without committing sin Ephesians 4:26-27 tells us,
""Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.""
We ought to know that anger is not always a demonic emotion. While human anger does not produce the righteousness that God wants (see James 1:20), Godly anger will always produce what He wants.
A righteous kind of anger
The Bible tells us that God gets angry. Many verses speak of His "anger," His "indignation," and His "wrath." All of these things are poured out on the same things: wickedness, injustice, disobedience, and sin. His anger is directed towards the things that displease Him.
And these are the things we ought to be mad at.
Christians ought to be mad for the right reasons. When we're angry, we put ourselves at risk of doing something wrong. When we're angry for the wrong reasons, we're already doing something wrong right from the start, and the only way to stop it is to cease from being angry.
When we're angry at the things we should be angry at, however, we must not stop at being angry; we should do something that will channel our anger the right way.
Here are some things we should be angry at, and what we should do when we are angered by them.
1) Sin
We should be angry at sin. In fact, we should hate sin. We must be careful, however, that in our anger we don't do something wrong to those who commit sins; rather, we must remember that, like us, they need to be rescued from it.
Jude 22-23 tells us,
"And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."
2) Oppression
God doesn't like oppression. Psalm 146:7 tells us that He is "Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners."
We ought to be like that. We must love justice and hate injustice, desire that the needs of the needy will be met, and work for the freedom of those who are imprisoned by sin and its effects. Of course, we must do these in a way that honors God, not like vigilantes.
When we see others being oppressed, we must choose to act in a way that honors God. He commands us in Isaiah 1:16-17,
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil , learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow."
Proverbs 31:8-9 also tells us,
"Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."
3) Deception
We must never ever accept deception in our ranks as Christians. We must be watchful whenever a false prophet tries to deceive God's people in order to gain from them. We must be vigilant that no false teaching comes and deceives us and our fellow believers.
God expects us to be our brother's keepers (see Genesis 4:9). We must take care of each other, and quickly shut down all sorts of wrong and sinful teachings being taught in our homes and churches (see 2 Corinthians 11:3-4; Revelation 2:20). We must be mad enough to not allow any compromise in our lives.
We ought to live by Psalm 119:9-10, which says,
"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!"
