Is it Okay to Be Angry with God?
There are a lot of different opinions circling the Internet, that's for sure. The other day, I stumbled across an article in which the writer sought to answer the question, “Is it okay to be angry with God?”
His conclusion? “Yes,” he wrote, “being angry with God is perfectly okay.”
Now, I take issue with this view, and I would like to tell you why.
While it's correct, as the writer pointed out, that God understands and empathizes with our emotions and that "He can certainly handle it," this doesn't mean that being angry with God is ever right—or even "okay."
We'll flesh all this out shortly. But first, let's look at a few scriptures that talk about human anger:
Do not associate with a man given to anger or go with a hot-tempered man (Proverbs 22:24).
The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20).
Put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth (Colossians 3:8).
Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing (Psalm 37:8-9).
"I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court" (Matthew 5:22).
When we study the Bible, we find that it teaches that anger is a vice. With one exception: the type of anger we refer to as "righteous indignation."
Righteous indignation is what Jesus expressed on the two different occasions recorded in Scripture where He turned over the money changers' tables in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:14-17).
And what made our Lord's demonstration of anger righteous in those cases?
What made it righteous was that Jesus was defending His Father's glory. God's good name and reputation were at stake, and the Son was taking a stand for what is honorable, just, and ethical. It was for the same reason Jesus would get angered by the hypocritical actions of the Pharisees.
This kind of anger is not a vice. It's a virtue.
To put it simply, the Bible teaches that anger is wrong unless directed toward what angers God Himself: those things the Bible calls sin.
As the moral lawgiver of the universe, God gets to decide what's right and wrong. And if you're angered by that which makes God angry—lying, stealing, blasphemy, murder, child abuse, rape, social injustice, etc., etc.—then your anger is justified and righteous because you agree with God and His holy standard.
The question we need to ask here, then, is this: "Are we ever justified to be angry at God?" In other words, is the anger based on some sin that God has committed, some standard He has failed to meet?
Of course, the answer is no. God has never done anything that wasn't ethical. Not for a moment has He fallen short of the standard of perfection He has established.
Any time it appears that God is doing something less than perfect, it's our perception that is inaccurate. And we must trust God's Word more than our perception (Proverbs 3:5)!
So, then, if we accept what the Bible says about God's character, we inevitably reach the following conclusion:
Being angry with God is never justified.
Therefore, being angry with God will never qualify as righteous indignation.
Therefore, being angry with God is never right—or "okay".
Yes, God is a big God. He understands that we may sometimes struggle to believe that He is good. Especially when we know He could easily have done something to prevent the evil that took place, yet He chose not to.
Why?
God sees the questions behind the anger. He hurts with us. And He certainly doesn't love us any less because we're mad at Him!
But if we want to start healing from the emotional pain that is causing us to be angry at God, the first step is correct thinking. We must start by aligning our thoughts with what the Bible says about anger.
Next, we must confess our anger to God and ask for His help to put it away.
(This is the correct, biblical response. It isn't meant to sound insensitive, and I pray no one takes it that way.)
Trying to justify our anger, as the article’s writer proposed, will only keep us stuck. If we lean on God's Word, on the other hand, determined to continue to trust Him, chances are our anger will start to dissipate over time and clear the way for supernatural peace.
L.B.
What are your thoughts on righteous indignation or on being angry with God? Please share in the comments section below!
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