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Anger and Righteousness


My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.(James 1:19-21)
 

            This passage is one we all need to hear in this time when so many are out for the blood of this political candidate, or that terrorist, or the police, or some baker of cakes or photographer  who declines to participate in something he/she believes sinful. The road rage that is sometimes treated as humorous has become social rage. This social rage - social self-righteousness - does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. This isn't saying you can't argue someone into Heaven. The righteous life that God desires is a righteous life in the one who is raging. It is the one who is raging to whom God says to get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. It is to the one who is raging that God says to humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
           This doesn't mean that we are never to feel anger. Such is an unrealistic idea and God is not unrealistic. It does not mean that we should never confront evil strongly, or that we should never  argue. It does mean that we need to deal with our anger better than we want to. To be controlled by our anger is no better than to be controlled by alcohol, or heroin. 
            Anger can give us strength, or it can weaken us. I made my own struggle with anger worse. For years while working at the library, I deliberately got angry because anger gave me more energy with which to do the work at hand. There was a time when I made a game out of what would probably have been considered minor road rage - something along the line of armchair quarterbacking other drivers who clearly didn't even have a clue what a football is. In comparison, I'm "tame" today, but this is one of the reasons I ask people to pray about my attitude, because I know how easy it is to fall into bad anger habits, and I know how much harm anger can do.

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