Be Angry, But Sin Not
Anger is God-given. It is also his and our most complicated emotion.
Mark Twain describes anger as "an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything into which it is poured." Twain’s vivid imagery underscores the destructive potential of anger, highlighting its capacity to corrode the soul that harbors it.
Anne Lamott similarly compares nursing grudges to "drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die," emphasizing the self-harming path of nursing resentment and refusing to do the harder, more gutsy and costly work of loving.
Holocaust hero and survivor Corrie Ten Boom reflects, "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
All three point to a universal truth: In a cultural moment where outrage—once considered among the seven deadly sins but is now treated more as a virtue than a vice—continues to break relationships and shrink souls.
Most of us have felt hurt by others—betrayal, theft, lies, meanness, gossip, ghosting, or some other injury. It is a natural first reaction to feel anger, to wish ill upon those responsible, and to seek retribution. We may justify retaliatory anger as a means of maintaining control or seeking justice for ourselves. But it does not empower us. Rather, it enslaves us. Frederick Buechner, quoted below, vividly illustrates how ruminating anger is a surefire way to wolf our own selves down.
Buechner's imagery of anger as a feast of poison underscores its initial allure and gradual self-consuming nature. Like a poisonous berry, resentment may taste sweet at first but inevitably turns bitter, inflicting more harm on the carrier than on its intended targets. To preserve personal and spiritual health, it becomes crucial to expel all forms of toxic anger from within ourselves.
But anger is also tricky, because not all of it is inherently wrong. In fact, there is such a thing as righteous anger. Scripture offers nuance that allows righteous or healthy anger to coexist with love and grace.
Healthy anger, driven by righteous motives and outcomes, confronts evil while entrusting ultimate justice to God. It is conviction-oriented versus condemnation-oriented, always holding out hope and praying for an outcome that contains the sweet scent of God’s peace. Healthy anger aims not to retaliate but to restore and protect what is good.
Toxic anger perpetuates evil; healthy anger combats it.
Jesus Christ is himself the ultimate portrait and source of righteous or healthy anger. He is gentle and meek, while also being righteously indignant. He overturned tables in the temple, sharply rebuked hypocrisy, and confronted real injustice—especially in defense of the poor and disabled and widows and orphans—with fervor.
Jesus’ anger arose from a place of love, not from selfishness or for personal gain. Even when provoked or facing death, Jesus demonstrated that righteous anger can coexist with a durable, beautiful character and a merciful, compassionate heart.
Jesus demonstrates that anger, when rooted in love and guided by wisdom and truth, can serve godly purposes. He invites us to imitate his balance of righteous anger and compassionate love, refusing to let anger devolve into bitter roots or vengeance. Jesus invites us to harness anger as a force for positive change, renewal, and restoration.
Frederick Buechner's insight remains poignant:
"Anger…To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a King. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you."
For those who are awake to the glory of God and the dignity of every neighbor, anger is an invitation to redemptive introspection and spiritual growth. It prioritizes gospel virtues like grace and justice, and rejects anti-gospel virtues that have no room in the heart for self-examination on the one hand, or for welcoming penitent prodigals home on the other. According to Jesus, it is a fearsome thing to be forgiven much by a King, and then to imprison a peer for much lesser offenses.
By releasing grudges and cultivating grace in our hearts, we free ourselves from bitterness and contribute positively to relationship and community. Anger, when perfumed with humility, wisdom, and love, can lead to restoration and even revival.
Being awake to the dual nature of anger—its potential for harm and its capacity for good—helps us navigate our own and one another’s emotional triggers. As we look to Jesus as the Paragon of righteous anger tempered by love, we discover a path that leads to healing as well as personal, social, and cultural restoration.
May we heed the wisdom of these voices and embrace a transformative journey from anger to forgiveness, from condemnation to grace, and from staying stuck to becoming free—thereby contributing a healthier and more compassionate world.
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