Anger Management: Why your passivity might be sin!

Dr. Randy White For some, anger is all the rage!  But for most in the Christian world, anger is almost always considered inherently sinful.  “Slow to anger” has become “never to anger,” and this expectation is strongest especially for those who are in the ministry. I found this internet complaint against an angry Pastor:> I knew a pastor once who disrespected his [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=“yes” overflow=“visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=“1_1” background_position=“left top” background_color=“” border_size=“” border_color=“” border_style=“solid” spacing=“yes” background_image=“” background_repeat=“no-repeat” padding=“” margin_top=“0px” margin_bottom=“0px” class=“” id=“” animation_type=“” animation_speed=“0.3” animation_direction=“left” hide_on_mobile=“no” center_content=“no” min_height=“none”][leadership] elders, yelled in their faces, pointed his finger in their faces and called them liars. After his outburst, he then likened himself to Jesus, calling it righteous anger.  My first reaction to his comparison was that of laughter.  I found it humorous that someone would behave in that manner and then make the claim that they were being like Christ.  How sad that we can convince ourselves that our un-Christ-like behavior is justified. But not only that, we claim it as righteous.Notice how the writer immediately assumes that the disrespect, loud voice, pointing fingers, and calling them liars was “un-Christ-like behavior.”   I obviously do not know the whole story (probably not unlike the writer).  Perhaps the Pastor’s outburst was very unlike what Christ would have done.  However, I do know what Christ did: He “disrespected” the elders, saying to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites…” (Mark 7:6). He “yelled” at Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan.”  The scripture uses the word “rebuked,” which may have been what the Pastor was doing to his elders (though there is no mention that he called them Satan). He called the elders liars when He said, “If I say that I do not know [the Father], I will be a liar like you” (John 8:55).So Imust say, “not so fast” when the writer accuses the Pastor of very un-Christ-like behavior.  Perhaps the writer who accused the Pastor of his sinful behavior needs to take a chill pill for a moment and join me on this journey of reconsidering anger.# Be Angry!Ephesians 4:26 gives a specific command:  Be angry.  Our society has become so afraid of Christian anger that it assumes that all anger is sinful or will quickly lead to sin.  I am convinced that the anti-anger spirit has become so pervasive in our society that almost every English translation of the Bible has incorrectly translated this verse.  Believing that the verse cannot say what they think it says, they make it say what it does not.   Before I demonstrate this, let me clearly explain what the words of the Greek text instruct in Ephesians 4:26.  The command (an imperative) is Be angry.  Any faithful translation must translate this command into the English language.  If it removes the imperative nature of the original, it has not been faithful in the translation.  Further, the command includes a conjunction which connects a secondary imperative to the primary.  The secondary command is sin not.  The implication, then, is that it would be a sin not to be angry!Later we will add a context to this, lest you live in a continual state of anger.   With this foundation, let me show you how the prevailing mindset that anger is danger has affected translations: New Century Version| “When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day” * Problem:  The Bible gives a command, this translation gives a suggestion for response. * Problem:  “do not sin” is a secondary command, while this translation makes it primary. * Problem:  The original Greek words never give an instruction to “stop being angry before the end of the day.”  In a moment I’ll show that this is completely foreign to the words from Paul’s pen. The Message | "Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry” * Problem:   Rather than display an imperative, this paraphrase makes a concession. * Problem:  Paul wrote nothing about revenge, the “translator” simply made that up. New Living Translation |“And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry” * Problem: the emphasis is on the secondary command. * Problem: Paul didn’t write anything about “letting anger control you.”  Once again, the “translator” made that up. * Problem: This verse is not supposed to be negative toward anger.  It is a command to be angry! Good News Bible (TEV) | "If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day” * Problem:  Paul never wrote the word “if” nor did he use the subjunctive mode. * Problem:  Paul never spoke about anger that leads to sin. * Problem:  Paul never gave a command that we should not stay angry all day. New International Version (NIV) |  “’In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” * Problem:  Where did the command go? * Problem:  Once again, Paul did not give a command to be done with anger by day’s end. New American Standard Bible (NASB95) |  “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger” * Problem:  “yet” gives a different implication, making the command into a warning. * Commendation: NASB is faithful to italicize yet, alerting the reader that it is a translator’s addition and has no underlying textual authority. * Commendation:  NASB puts Old Testament quotes in ALL CAPS, so that we can be alerted to the fact that “Be Angry and do not sin” is a quote from the Old Testament (Psalm 4:4, which, incidentally, does not include “yet”).The King James Version faithfully translates the Greek, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”  I think that the anti-anger assumption came with the 20^th Century, and the older King James was immune to this modern mindset against anger.# Get Angry—with whom?Context is king, as they say!  Faithfully interpreting a passage of Scripture requires faithfulness to the words and to the context of the words.  Without context you might believe you are commanded to be angry always and everywhere.  Context narrows the content and the course of our anger.   Verse 25 gives the context to verse 26, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25, NASB95).  We are to be angry, then, when there is sin in the body of Christ! The church would greatly benefit from laying aside falsehood and speaking truth.  The Greek word falsehood is recognizable:  pseudo.  It is time to get rid of the pseudo and start speaking truth!  American churches are filled with pseudo saints who are acting pseudo happy in their pseudo walk with Christ!  This should make us angry.# Get Angry—by when?Paul tells us, “don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”  Rather than a negative instruction to stop being angry by sundown, this is a positive command to be angry before sundown.  In other words, Paul gives us a deadline! Why does Paul give this deadline?  Because if we wait it will “give the devil an opportunity” (v. 27).  When there is pseudo in the church and among believers, it should anger us, and it would be sinful to restrain that anger beyond sundown because, as long as that anger is restrained the devil is running loose! The instruction is that the sun not go down on our anger.  The Greek word here is important:  paraorgizmo.  The word in the command Be angry is orgizmo, and the sun is not to go down on our para-orgizmo, with the addition of the prefix para.  This prefix means to “come alongside” and is often used in English for one who comes alongside—a para_medic comes alongside a doctor, a para_legal comes alongside an attorney, and so on.  The sun is not to set on our paraorgizmo, which in this case is the cause of our anger.  In other words, move aside the pseudo and speak the truth about the cause of your anger, knowing that if you do not do so you are giving an opportunity for the devil’s work, and thus you have sinned.# How to be angryThe Bible gives us lots of instruction on expressing our anger toward the cause of our anger.   Here are some qualifiers that you should consider before getting angry: Is there a log in your own eye that you should first deal with? Is this an offense that can be overlooked without giving the devil an opportunity to damage the church? Can you confront the cause of your anger, which is an issue, action, or position?  If you can only confront the person then your anger will do no good.* Are you hopeful for restoration of the person who will be in the line of fire?  If you will still be angry at the person even if the cause is removed, then you are not ready to be angry.  Restoration is always a priority goal, thus verse 29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29, NASB95).If you can meet these qualifiers, then be angry and do not sin by containing your anger beyond sunset! ___________________________ To download this article in PDF format, Click Here.Dr. Randy White is pastor of First Baptist Church of Katy, Texas, and the speaker on the daily broadcast of Word for the World.  He is the author of The Antichrist as well as many booklets and articles.  Contact h