The anger of our flesh does not produce the righteousness God is seeking in all of us. Because human anger is selfish by definition. It is concerned with a slight or affront towards us, as opposed to God. It is also very dangerous for us:
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. Ephesians 4: 26-27 (NLT)
Anger is just the feeding ground the devil looks for to plant his lies into us. That is because anger can be just as consuming as zeal. We can become devoted to the anger. The angrier we get the more focused we are on the hurt instead of on God. Paul teaches there are several things we need to be wary of which can consume us:
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3: 8-11 (NLT)
Learn to know your creator and become like Him. Christ is all that matters. That is what we hold our anger up to in order to determine if there is any righteousness in it at all. Is Christ still all that matters? Or has the anger we are experiencing consuming us? The ending of the key verse indicates that the insults to God actually fall on the zealous. Because it is no longer about us. If the anger we are feeling is related to a personal hurt to ourselves, then it is not righteous. But when we are so consumed with God, anything which insults Him will naturally insult us. And we will seek to correct such insult within the spirit of God. Realize that Jesus was never "out of control." Righteous anger is actually well controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus saw that there was injustice. People were coming from miles around to meet with God and reconcile themselves to Him. But some were using the holy temple to profit from their position. Prices were gouged for simple currency exchanges and selling doves. The righteous anger inside of Christ had nothing to do with Jesus the man but His zeal for the house of the Lord consumed Him and He knocked over the tables and cleansed the temple. We know that there was no residual anger because the next verse says:
The
blind and the lame came to him in the
Once Jesus cleansed the unrighteousness with His righteous anger, He quickly resumed the business of God. Human anger lingers. Jesus not only saw the injustice but He saw that there was damage being done to the witness of God. His anger was related to an eternal perspective not a personal one. Lastly, Jesus concern had nothing to do with Himself and everything to do with God. These are all closely knit. The bar has been set pretty high for the concept of righteous anger. The common factor again is God. If the zeal for the things of God truly consumes us then anything insulting to God will begin to fall on us. Once it does, we will not be able to help but correct the injustice, repair the damage, and quickly get back to the work God has called us to do. Righteous anger is not about me, it is all about Him.
