“He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!” (Mark 3:5 NLT)
What makes you angry? Not just mildly annoyed or upset, but red in the face, fists formed, teeth clenched, ready to brawl angry? Often, we believe anger is a sin, and it can certainly lead to sin, but the Bible clearly shows that Jesus was angry with the Pharisees in the verse above, yet He didn’t allow it to lead to sin. Where’s the line? How far must we go before we sin?
Part of it is based on the origin of our anger. Most of the time our anger originates because of an offense or threat against us. But notice Jesus wasn’t angry because of the Pharisees attack on Him, He was upset because of the shallowness of their heart and their misdirected piety. They were trying to use the letter of the law to prevent God’s will from being accomplished. Is that our problem?
When I see the shallowness of my own faith raise its ugly head, if I allow Him, the Lord will point out that my anger (a) is misdirected and (b) isn’t appropriate for the circumstances. How so? Notice in the Mark 3 passage Jesus didn’t allow His anger to be taken out on another human being, He focused on the real “enemy.” He asked the man to stretch out his deformed hand.
Ranting at the Pharisees would have accomplished nothing, so, instead, Jesus addressed the heart of the matter – the man who needed healing. How often do we jump all over the “messenger,” which in the above verse was the Pharisees, and miss the real source – Satan or his devilish emissaries. We want to lash out when we get angry, which is like pouring gasoline on the flame, rather than seeing the big picture.
An unknown source said: “Anger is just one letter short of danger.” Anger is like the musicians tuning their instruments before the concert, it’s the prelude to what’s coming, that has the potential to be something beautiful and good. David Jeremiah wrote: “When anger rises, let it be a motivation not to sin. Step back, consider, and pray for understanding and guidance and for a way to replace harm with goodness.” (See Turning Point Take a Breath – 02-15-23)
No doubt Jesus was unhappy with the Pharisees, not for what they said or suggested, but for what motivated their concern – their hard hearts and blindness to His great love for them. It broke His heart to see them so committed to the law, when the Author of the Law was standing in their presence. That’s the critical piece of anger we can’t miss. Anything that turns our heart or mind away from Jesus and onto anything else, hurts Him and hardens our heart toward Him.
Paul said it like this: “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Unrighteousness, illustrated in whatever setting, should cause anger to well up in our spirit; however, it must lead to positive action, not needless and purposeless ranting against individuals.
Anything that negatively stirs us up will push us toward anger and away from the Lord, unless and until we allow the Holy Spirit to harness our anger, thus, allowing the Lord to use it for the good of others and to honor Himself.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 