The Right Reasons for Anger and the Right Way to be Angry

Righteous anger gets mad the right way about the right things for the right length of time to achieve the right end.

There are a LOT of mad folk in the world. Those whose anger is truly righteous will achieve righteous ends through righteous means for righteous reasons.

Lots of things MAY be the voice of the unheard, but that voice may be unrighteous. The ends do not always justify the means. Anger CAN be productive, but there are many more cases where it is not than cases where it is. However, righteous anger met with righteous action yield amazing results.

How can we know whether we are mad in the right way about the right things?

• "Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly." (Proverbs 14:29 ESV) 
• "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention." (Proverbs 15:18 ESV) 
• "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city." (Proverbs 16:32 ESV) 
• "Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." (Proverbs 19:11 ESV) 
• "Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man," (Proverbs 22:24 ESV) 
• "A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression." (Proverbs 29:22 ESV) 
• "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools." (Ecclesiastes 7:9 ESV)

The Bible does say "Be angry..." but it also says, "...and do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26a ESV) There is room to be angry and a time to be angry and things worth being angry about. Understand that! It CAN be a healthy, positive emotion, but when it is healthy and godly and righteous, it will not yield sin. We are told to "put away" anger (see Ephesians 4:31 and Colossians 3:8), so we can clearly see there is room to be angry, but there is not permission to be angry about everything, nor is there permission to be angry all the time. We ought to be "slow to anger" because the "anger of man does produce the righteousness of God." (see James 1:19-20)

AHHHHH! There it is! Be angry about the stuff God is angry about, but work it out the right way! We ought to be angry about injustice, but we ought not meet that anger with crime or violence or fear-mongering. We work and give and build and support and speak out and help others and so forth...we find righteous means to work out righteous anger.