Transcript
I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger, saying that God doesn't want you un-angry. No, He wants you rightfully angry. He wants you good and angry at the very same time. Now, here's the problem. So little -- if we're able to examine ourselves, if we're able to be humbly self-inspecting, if we be able to humbly listen to the people around us -- so little of our anger is good anger.
How Much of Your Anger Was About God's Kingdom?
Think about this. How much of your anger in the last month had anything whatsoever to do with the kingdom of God? I'm angry because the guy in front of me is driving too slow. I'm angry because someone had the audacity to disagree with my glorious wisdom. I'm angry that the person in front of me at the grocery store has a cart full of items and I've got to wait.
I'm angry because I go to the department store and they don't have the shirt that I'm looking for. I'm angry because at work, I don't get the credit that I think I should get. I'm angry because people I live with sometimes point out my wrong. See all that anger, what is it about?
It has me at the center of my world. It has my comfort, my plan, my ease at the center of everything. Self-righteous anger is proud. It's selfish. It's me in the center of my world and that's why it's ungodly anger, sinful anger. But if you live in a fallen world, you should not be un-angry. There are things in this world that should make you angry.
Things That Should Make You Angry
Rebellion should make you angry. Injustice should make you angry. Racism should make you angry. Institutionalized poverty should make you angry. Political corruption should make you angry. Things that are in the way of God's holy plan should make you angry.
Now, think about that. It's not the anger of violence. It's not the anger of meanness. It's not the anger of ripping somebody's face off because they've gotten in my way. It's not the anger, I look down on someone because they disagreed with me.
No, this is the anger of wisdom, the anger of truth, the anger of compassion, the anger of love. It's a desire deep within my heart that my world would be what God intended for it to be. It's a grief that it's not and I'm riled up inside, and I want to be part of what is good and pure and holy and true. I will not be passive. I will not say that wrong is okay because God doesn't. I'm angry, but that anger is a beautiful thing and it does beautiful things. It's not the hurtful, destructive anger that has me at the center of my universe.
