… and Do Not Sin

Our calling as Christians to imitate the Lord Jesus, coupled with the Scriptural examples of righteous anger on the part of both God the Father and God the Son, argues that there are times when anger is appropriate for us. But if there is any one emotion that is laced with danger it is anger, for it can be the stimulus for the destruction of other people and our own souls if it is not tempered by the truth of God.

For this reason, Paul not only told the Ephesians to “Be angry,” he quickly cautioned them not to sin if they did become wrathful. The apostle understood that the emotion of anger is a powerful impetus to sin. When we become angry, we can overreact and become violent, hateful, or bitter. This is what happened to David when he was insulted by Nabal. His anger may or may not have been proper, but even if it was, it was not his position to take vengeance for Nabal’s insult. He needed to leave that to God. But David was ready to kill, and not just Nabal but all of his household. David was about to make a vast over-reaction to Nabal’s insult—until God intervened by sending Abigail.

Another Scriptural example of an angry overreaction has a less-happy ending. In Genesis 34, we read of Jacob’s daughter Dinah being raped by a Canaanite man. Jacob undoubtedly was very upset by this, but the passage does not spell out his reaction. However, his sons were “grieved and very angry” (v. 7). This anger was completely appropriate—their sister had been violated—but it led them into sin. When the father of the Canaanite asked Jacob to give Dinah to his son as a wife, the brothers “deceitfully” demanded that all the men of the Canaanite city be circumcised. The men agreed, but after they had undergone circumcision, Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi came and killed all the males, after which their brothers plundered the city. This was a vast, sinful overreaction, as is pointed out later, when Jacob bestowed the patriarchal blessing, the inheritance of the divine promises, upon his sons. He withheld the lion’s share from his eldest son Reuben (because of a separate sin), then bypassed Simeon and Levi, saying, “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce” (Gen. 49:7a). Because their anger led them into sin, they were denied the patriarchal blessing. Thus, the kingship of Israel, “the scepter,” fell to Judah, Jacob’s fourth son. From his line came the true King of Israel, Jesus.