"No matter how right the cause is, the anger of man only makes things worse."

Ray Ortlund:

Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Luke 2:10 

The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  James 1:20 

A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  James 3:18 

Flee youthful passions.  2 Timothy 2:22 

The “youthful passions” in this context are not sexual.  Paul has in mind the passion for controversy, that feeling inside that relishes a fight and loves to be proved right and even prophetic.  Instead, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, . . . patiently enduring evil” (2 Timothy 2:24).  But there is something about us, especially in our youthful immaturity, that lusts to raise protests and set the world right and make sure everyone cares as passionately as I do, because I’m on the side of the right, I’m the defender of the downtrodden, I get it more than others do, etc. 

In this world of blatant, horrible wrongs, it is not hard to get angry.  It is hard not to get angry.  But “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  It just doesn’t.  Because it can’t.  No matter how right the cause is, the anger of man only makes things worse.  Sometimes the youthful don’t see how clever evil is, how easy it is for us to add to evil while intending good, how hard it is for us to be angry and not sin and complicate things further.  Exposing and confronting wrongs — real wrongs with real victims — is good, but not simple.  Not for us.  What is simple is creating more victims by rushing to judgment with guns ablazing and a golden heart pursuing a noble cause.

Read the rest.


Books by Ray Ortlund:

• Proverbs:  Wisdom That Works
• Isaiah:  God Saves Sinners
• A Passion for God: Prayers and Meditations on the Book of Romans
• God's Unfaithful Wife: A Biblical Theology of Spiritual Adultery
• When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today

Why We Get Angry

Mike Leake:

1. I get angry when my perceived rights are violated. No matter how legit these “rights” are whenever they are violated I am prone to anger. I feel that I have the “right” to fair treatment and I do not receive it then I get angry.
2. I get angry when my pride is wounded. Every person battles pride. Sometimes even those that seem the most humble take great pride in their humility. Whenever our pride (read source of identity) is wounded we often resort to anger. Our pride can be wounded through disrespect or a loving rebuke from a friend.
3. I get angry when my hopes are disappointed. Who of us does not have an imagined future? We have hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Some are bigger and stronger than others. This can be as simple as the hope of getting to watch a football game or the agony of a broken relationship. Any time things are not going the way that I envision them going I am tempted towards anger.
4. I get angry when my fears are confirmed. Just as we have hopes we also have fears. There are things that we hope no person ever notices about us. There are things that we hope never happen to us. There are things that we pray for and things that we pray never happen. When our fears are realized, either through someone exposing our true self or a situation that confirms our fear we are tempted to anger.
5. I get angry when my comfort is interrupted. We love our comfort. We plan vacations with the hope of relaxation and comfort. Sometimes we plan mini-vacations after getting home from school or work. We hope to sit down and relax, when that comfort is interrupted we can be quickly tempted to anger.

One thing that all of these have in common is idolatry. 

Read the rest.

Are We Free To Be Angry?

Yes, but be very careful.  Tim Challies writes:

Does God allow his people to express anger? Yes, he does. But only under these circumstances: You are reacting against actual sin, you are more concerned with the offense against God than the offense against yourself, and you are expressing your anger in ways consistent with Christian character. And as we can all testify, this kind of righteous anger is difficult and rare.

Read the rest as he expands upon these points.


Books by Tim Challies:

• The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion 
• The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment 
• Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys Who Are Sick of Porn

On Moral Outrage

Everyone is angry about something these days.  Outrage sells.  Our culture loves to sling it out there.  I can relate.  Anger is so often fueled by a sense of self-righteousness and it just feels so darn good.

Along these lines, Stephen Altrogge gives a helpful reminder:

Moral outrage without a heart of mercy is a slap in the face to God’s mercy. “Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ (Matthew 18:32-33) 

Moral outrage without broken-hearted prayer reveals a heart that doesn’t care about people’s salvation. “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) 

Moral outrage without a humble awareness of our own sinfulness breeds hypocrisy. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15) 

Moral outrage without an accompanying trust in God’s sovereign rule over all things fosters fear. “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them [kings and rulers] in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury…(Psalm 2:4-5) 

Moral outrage without wise speech leads to slander, gossip, and unwholesome talk. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Read the rest.


Books by Stephen Altrogge:

• The Greener Grass Conspiracy: Finding Contentment on Your Side of the Fence 
• Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff 
• The Last Superhero 
• My Friend, My Hero, My Dad

How To Navigate Conflict Well

Pastor J.D. Greear:

In Ephesians 4:29, Paul mentions two kinds of speech: that which builds up and that which pulls down. This verse and the surrounding passage show us ten ways that we can handle conflict well—10 ways to fight like a Christian. 

1. Examine your heart.This is a huge first step in any conflict. Even if you’ve been wronged, what does your emotional response say about your heart? Is it possible that malice, wrath, or bitterness have snuck in? These things are like alarm systems for your heart, pointing to idolatry, which is often a much bigger issue than whatever your spouse (or brother or friend or boss) has done to you. 

2.     Overlook whatever you can.Part of speaking to others with grace is discerning what needs confronting and what should be overlooked. That’s a lot of what Paul means by that little phrase, “as fits the occasion.” On certain occasions (not all!), confronting little infractions only serves to heighten tensions. There are times you need to speak up and confront; and there are times to just let it go. There’s a real art to knowing the difference. 

3.     Be practical in how you fight.Again, think about what “fits the occasion.” My wife and I have learned the hard way that there are certain times, places, and moods that are just bad for arguments. So we never fight, for instance, if we’re both exhausted. We table the argument and come back to it within 24 hours, after we’ve had time to rest. Now, there’s always a temptation to just table a critical discussion endlessly, so you need to be sure to keep your word. If you say, “Let’s talk about this in the morning,” then put it on your calendar and actually bring it back up. 

4.     Be quick to listen and slow to speak.As our Pastor of Counseling Brad Hambrick says, the vast majority of communication problems are notexpression problems, but listening problems. You’re plenty skilled at making your point known; but the “communication breakdown” is the result of your stopped up ear. Listening well is one way of applying the biblical truth of considering others’ interests more important than your own (cf. Phil 2:3–4) 

5.     Seek their sanctification, not your vindication.Once you let go of the idea that you have to win every argument and vindicate yourself, you can finally focus on what helps the other person and the relationship. That means backing off, even when you think you are in the right. 

6.  Believe in God’s overriding purposes in your relationships.Knowing that God has a purpose for your relationships introduces an element of hope, even to the most broken of those relationships. This will not automatically make a difficult relationship easier, but it does add perspective: God knew you would be in that relationship, and he intends to do something beautiful with your conflict. 

7. Speak grace-saturated words.When grace saturates your speech, it changes both the content and the tone of what you say. Instead of assuming the positives and noticing the negatives, you begin to assume the negatives and intentionally point out the positives. You avoid being sarcastic and condescending, because that kind of talk—even if it’s technically “true”—only serves to ostracize and tear down. 

8. Don’t give up until there is no longer a chance of reconciliation.This is specifically applicable to married relationships, though the principle is broader than that. I see so many couples going through the pain of divorce, and even though I believe there are legitimate reasons for divorce, I wish that more people would just give the power of grace a chance before giving up on that relationship. 

9. Truly forgive.Forgiveness is a choice to put an offense away from our minds, but it’s not conditional on another person’s repentance. Many people think, “I’d forgive so-and-so if they would just ask for it.” But don’t confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. Reconciliation takes two people; forgiveness only takes one. For your own sake, do not wait on another person’s repentance before you forgive. The only alternative to forgiveness is bitterness. 

10. Do all things out of reverence for Christ.The only way to follow any of this is for the cross to grow large in your life, to be so overwhelmed by Christ’s sacrifice for you that it reorients how you view every offense against you. If you try to resolve conflict as an act of service to your spouse, you will always lose motivation. You have to do it for Jesus. 

Books by J.D. Greear:

• Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved
• Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary
• Breaking the Islam Code: Understanding the Soul Questions of Every Muslim

3 Criteria of Righteous Anger

Paul Tautges:

• Righteous Anger Reacts against Actual Sin.
• Righteous Anger Focuses on God and His Kingdom, Rights, and Concerns, Not on Me and My Kingdom, Rights and Concerns.
• Righteous Anger Is Accompanied by Other Godly Qualities and Expresses Itself in Godly Ways.

Read the rest.


(HT: DashHouse)

Why We Hate LeBron

Awesome.

The Onion:

No one denies that LeBron James is a phenomenal young talent who has turned in some almost supernaturally good performances, but he's still generally unloved by fans. Here's why:

• Skills second only to Kobe, touch second only to Bird, vision second only to Magic, and strength second only to Russell; therefore, pretty much a worthless second-rater
• Was supposed to be the next Jordan, but chose friendship over a monomaniacal obsession with winning bordering on mental illness
• Does this really annoying thing where he isn't always playing on Team USA and is instead playing for the Heat so then you have to root against him
• Significant percentage of sports fans are jealous of his high school diploma
• Abandoned and gave up on Cleveland, albeit decades after the rest of us did
• Makes us feel guilty for never doing anything to make Cleveland better ourselves
• Dunked over the pope at last year’s St. Peter's Basketbasilica Jamfest, even though the game was already out of hand
• Televising The Decision repelled and frightened the American public, most of whom have spent their whole lives trying to avoid making decisions
• Basically, it's easier not to really think about it

On Our Collective Anger

Classic post here from The Onion:

“If you can keep him away from the concepts of cooperation, the social contract, or the necessity of using a common language to engage in routine interpersonal communication, he’s just like everyone else,” Chastenay added.

Read the rest.

Good and Angry at the Same Time

Paul Tripp:

So, if we are ever going to be tools of the gracious anger of a righteous and loving God, we must begin by admitting the coldness and selfishness of our own hearts. We must cry out for the rescue that only his grace can give. We must pray for seeing eyes and willing hearts. We must make strategic decisions to put ourselves where need exists. We must determine to slow down so that when opportunities for mercy present themselves we are not too distracted or too busy.

Most of all, those of us who have been called to represent the character and call of God in local church ministry need to pray that we would be righteously angry. We must pray that a holy zeal for what is right and good would so fill our hearts that the evils greeting us daily would not be okay with us. We must pray that we would be angry in this way until there is no reason to be angry anymore. And we must be vigilant, looking for every opportunity to express the righteous indignation of justice, mercy, wisdom, grace, compassion, patience, perseverance, and love. We must be agitated and restless until his kingdom has finally come and his will is finally being done on earth as it is in heaven. For the sake of God's honor and his kingdom, we must determine to be good and angry at the same time.

It is inevitable: this week you will be angry. Everyone is in some way. When you look back on your anger this week, will you see anger resulting from building your temporary kingdom or seeking God's eternal kingdom? Will anger propel you to be a healer, a restorer, a rescuer, and a reconciler? Or will your anger leave a legacy of fear, hurt, disappointment, and division? God calls you to be good, and he calls you to be angry at the same time. This broken world desperately needs people who will answer his call.

Read the rest.

How The Gospel Helps Us Battle Anger Issues

If you struggle with anger, you might want to read this.

Anger - A Biblical Solution

Jonathan Dodson with another good one here: Anger: The Image of Satan. He starts his post with this:

My second year of marriage was a mess.

I had bottled up discontent from a lack of emotional intimacy with my wife from the first year. In immaturity and a gross lack of understanding, I exploded in episodes of anger. Shouting, name-calling, and T-shirt ripping. Yeah, I would grab the collar of my t-shirt with two hands and pull down in angst, ripping the shirt in two. My wife had no idea she was marrying the Incredible Hulk when she said "I do."

And here is the weird thing; I wasn't even an "angry person" before I got married.

Read the rest of this very helpful article.

(HT: JT)