Articles
The Value of Anger
"Be angry and yet do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26a).
Does this verse command us to be angry? If you are like me, most of the time you read this passage as a conditional statement meaning something like, “If you are angry, do not sin.” Or perhaps you take it as more of a concession permitting us to be angry, meaning something like: “Although you may get angry, be sure you do not sin.”
There are several reasons, though, that it is best to understand the phrase “be angry” exactly as it sounds, as a command to be angry, yet without sin. First, a grammatical reason. The phrase “be angry” is a Greek imperative, and most English translations preserve that form to convey a simple command (for a sampling see NKJV, HCSB, ESV; NIV is a slight exception). Second is a contextual reason. This verse appears within a larger section (Eph. 4:25-32) in which Paul exhorts us to put off former (old self) behaviors in exchange for new behaviors that are in keeping with the renewing of our minds through Christ (vv. 22-24). Every other put-off/put-on pair within this section is written as a command. It would be consistent within the context, then, for “be angry” to also be a command, not a condition or concession.
The trouble is that a command to “be angry” just does not seem to agree with our modern feelings about anger as an emotion. It does not seem Christ-like to be angry all the time and let it fuel our actions. We think of anger as a mostly negative emotion, or maybe even entirely sinful. We forget, however, that Christ was angry on several occasions, as when he cleansed the temple (John 2:14-16) or observed the silent hardening of the Pharisees’ hearts (Mark 3:5) or sharply rebuked Satan’s suggestion that he not go to the cross (Matthew 16:23). In each case, Jesus’ anger moved him to swift and shocking action.
The Father himself also expressed burning anger many times throughout the Old Testament, especially towards the Israelite people when they consistently rebelled and rejected his gracious covenant. Our ability to feel and express anger, rather than being a negative or sinful thing, is actually a reflection of us being created in God’s image. And it is also an important part of us putting on “the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph. 4:24).
Our anger has so often led us to sin through grudges, hurtful words, bitterness, revenge. But as we are being transformed into Christ’s image we must not eliminate that part of us that is able to be angered. This verse shows us that, at the very least, it is possible for us to be angry and yet not sin. More than that, it shows there is a kind of pure, holy, and good anger that we must strive to cultivate inasmuch as it reflects God’s purity, holiness, and goodness. The sin that angers God must also anger us.
A Christian without this kind of anger cannot overcome temptation, as he will not have developed a strong moral reaction to sin that will cause him to instinctively turn away. Nor will he be able to break away of his past sin, as godly sorrow leading to true repentance produces something Paul calls “indignation” in 2 Corinthians 7:11. We need anger to help us wage war against Satan and the evil forces of darkness.
We also need Christ-like anger to help us be passionate for the Lord’s work. Anger and zeal are close cousins, stemming from the same root emotion. God’s anger is protective of what he loves (see Ex. 20:5), in the same way that a husband’s jealousy shields his wife from other men’s advances. The disciples witnessed God’s passion in action when they saw Jesus cleansing the temple and remembered the passage which says, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:17). God also commended Phinehas who stopped the plague on Israel when they compromised with Moab because “he was jealous for his God” (Num. 25:13). Oh that the same would be said of us in our age of complacent and superficial Christianity! We need the zeal of God to remove sin from among our midst, whether formally or informally. We need the zeal of God to battle false doctrine by teaching the truth in purity. We are to be a people “zealous for good deeds” (Tit. 2:14). Yet our excuse is that we do not want to offend anyone’s beliefs. Today, let us take on the heart of Christ, including his anger toward evil and zeal to follow truth at all costs!
We temper this with the second part of Ephesians 4:26: “and yet do not sin.” We also balance it with Ephesians 5:1-2, where we are commanded to imitate God by walking in love. Anger should not be our default emotion, as it is not God’s. Satan can work evil through our anger very easily, even what we think is righteous anger. So we must proceed with caution. Diligent prayer, discernment of the need of the moment, and careful searching of the Scriptures will help us know what is appropriate. And even then we must not let our guard down by allowing anger to burn long and develop into bitterness or resentment – at which point the devil has a tight grip on our hearts.
Put off sinful expressions of anger (Eph. 4:31), but put on the holy anger of God that moves us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in a world filled with darkness and unrighteousness.
