Angry?
I wonder what kind of things make you angry. Looking back over some things that have made me angry, seeing injustices to helpless people rates quite high on my list. You might think that Christians shouldn’t get angry, but should always be patient and kind, but there are times when it’s right to be angry.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26, 27: In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Often anger leads to action, so we must make sure we are angry about the right things, act appropri-ately and then put it down. When Jesus went into the temple which was meant to be a ‘house of prayer for all nations’ he was very angry with those who had turned it into a trading place to the extent that he called it a ‘den of robbers’, and caused havoc turning their tables upside down, releasing the doves which were to be sold for sacrifices and tipping everything on the floor (Matt 21:12, 13.) There is a time for righteous anger.
I came across some verses in Psalm 78, which tell us what makes God angry. In the past God was often portrayed as an angry God. Of more recent times the emphasis has been on the love of God. But both of these attributes are true of him. John tells us that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). So what is it that makes this loving God so angry? This is what I found in Psalm 78:21, 22: When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance. And this is the point! Our loving Father God goes to great lengths to provide for us in all ways. It is his delight to provide our daily needs and he even went as far as giving up his own Son for us—but all of this needs to be met by faith in us. If we don’t believe in God and trust in his deliverance it will not benefit us, in fact it will draw his anger against us.
So here’s my advice to anyone at any time and it comes from Psalm 62:8 Trust in the Lord at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Brenda Critchley