Fight or Flight
During this hard time, we have seen many changes in the world. One of which sticks out to me more than any other. This is that when times are hard, it shows how little obedience in Christ a lot of Christians have. When backed into a corner, people feel scared. This is when their flight or fight instincts kick in, which causes anger. That is, if they aren’t relying on Jesus for their actions.
Often when addressing the anger in a fellow Christian I hear them say, “well Jesus flipped tables.” This is true. The Bible tell us this story four times: Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45–48, and John 2:13–16. The main take away from this story is that these people were disgracing Jesus’ bride, the church. We have to pay attention to the fact that Jesus corrected them in the church. This is the angriest action Jesus did in the Bible. This shows us that the angriest we should be is when when sinning is from people within the church. Notice that people within our church are often Christians.
“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”
I hear complaining, hate, bitterness, and anger almost every time I am with a group of Christians. Social media is also an outlet for Christian anger and bitterness. When a Christian is acting more like a human than a Christian is a moment more deserving of flipping tables. However, although It is okay to be angry, how we respond to this anger is the important part. We need to make sure that we are led by the Holy Spirit and not by that anger.
Anger is a very powerful emotion. As Christians, we have a great responsibility when it comes to anger. Used incorrectly, it can drive people far away from accepting Christ. Anger not checked with God first can create such a deep wound in non believers. All this does is give them another reason to not come to God. Our actions should encourage nonbelievers to be like us, not push them away. We can stand up for what we believe in but we need to do so in a loving manner.
Holy Spirit Take the Wheel
That said, anger is an emotion that was given to us, so how do we use it? The answer is simple – only with permission by the Holy Spirit. If you don’t know how to submit to the Holy Spirit when that rushing anger makes your blood boil, then you need to double check whether you are experiencing righteous anger or human anger.
James 1:20 explains: “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Righteous anger, anger caused from someone that is violating God’s word, can be used to defend this truth. However, as humans it is easy to pretend that our anger is righteous when it is not. All this does is push people away from Christ. Keep in mind that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit when he flipped tables. We know this because he was a living form of it. If you are expressing anger without 100% certainty that it is from the Holy Spirit, then you are essentially saying that your discernment is better than Jesus’.
Jesus Said to Love Not to be Angry
We are allowed to be angered by sin. However, we must remember that Jesus never instructed us to express anger toward anybody. In fact, Jesus’ teachings are quite the opposite. Jesus tells us first and foremost to love others (1 Corinthians 13:13). Jesus goes as far to say that “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement” (Matthew 5:22).
We are allowed to be angered by sin, but we must be careful when we show it. Keep in mind that never once did Jesus yell or condemn a prostitute or tax collector. He did, however, flip tables and drive out people in the church because they were disgracing his bride and disrespecting his father. As you finish out today, think about whether your actions as a Christian would make Jesus want to flip tables. Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your anger or are you using the church and your title as a Christian to act like a jerk?
