Is Being Angry Right with God?

Is being angry right with God? The answer can be found in Ephesians 4:26-27 which says,

“When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.”

It is okay at times to be angry. There are times when anger is right with God, for instance, when the character of God is being questioned or when we are standing up for the truth of the Gospel.

Anger against evil is necessary at times just like when Jesus got mad and turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money in the Temple of God. The Temple was a place that should only be used for worship and prayer (Mark 11:15-17). The people were using the house of God as a store to make money for themselves. Jesus got upset because the Temple should only be used for holy purposes and not for evil practices.

Jesus got angry for the right reasons. His kind of anger is a righteous anger. Sometimes we can feel another kind of anger that is known as unrighteous. This kind of anger is not right with God. He does not want us to stay feeling this kind of anger for long. God wants us to get rid of this feeling as soon as we can because it can cause us to become more bitter, give us a desire to say mean things or even hurt others (Colossians 3:8, James 4:1). Unrighteous anger also does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

We learn about unrighteous anger in Genesis 4:3-8 when Cain killed his brother Abel out of a jealous rage. Cain became angry when God rejected his gift and not his brother’s. If we let go of anger, then the devil has less opportunity to tempt us into sinning because of that anger.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

We want to start this day in prayer to You. If being angry is wrong, then please forgive us. It is easy to become angry especially during times when we feel we have the right to like after being hurt or in pain from an injury. Jesus got mad while standing up for Your Temple. We want to be the same way. Please help us when we get angry not to sin. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!