Righteous Anger
1 Samuel 11:6 NIV
When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.
Nahash the Ammonite was a nasty person. It wasn't enough that he had taken his powerful army in and surrounded Jabesh Gilead and that the people were willing to subject themselves to him and let him have their city. Oh, no. He wanted more. He wanted to gouge out the right eye of every man in the city, and then he'd make a treaty with them!
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Some people are just never satisfied. When Saul heard about what was going on, he became furious! So, in the now familiar method of a call to arms, he chopped up a couple of oxen and sent the parts out all over Israel, letting the people know he was angry, calling on the army of Israel to join in the battle to free Jabesh Gilead. Saul was consumed with righteous anger.
Somewhere along the line, we've formed the misimpression that Christians should never get angry... at anything. That's just not the "Christian" thing to do. A Christian who gets angry is destroying his witness. Poppycock! Read this passage again. "The Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger." Who caused Saul to get mad? God! When God looks on sin, He gets furious! When Jesus entered the temple courtyard and saw all the evil going on there, He didn't walk by and say, "Oh, well, oys will be boys." No, He got furious! He got so furious, He turned over their tables! He made a whip and chased them out! Anger, when it is directed at sin and injustice, is righteous anger. God used Saul's anger to bring about justice and freedom for the people of Jabesh Gilead. God used His own anger at the sin of the world to bring about justice and freedom for you and me.
There's a fine line you and I have to walk with our anger. and that is the direction of that anger. It must be directed at the sin, not at the person committing the sin. When sin makes us furious, we must ask God to show us how to use that anger constructively. how to apply the resources He gives us to help achieve His purpose, not our own. If you are angry, ask God to show you whether your anger is righteous or not. If your anger is righteous, then ask Him to show you how to turn your righteous anger into constructive anger, so His purpose in you can be fully accomplished.
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