Is Anger a Good Thing?

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth”. Romans 1:18

Can you imagine if the powers that be would understand that suppressing the truth angers God? How current this is for the times we live in … I digress.

The bible is filled with passages where God is angry, but we also have been told that we need to love everyone all the time. Is this an oxymoron? Could anger be a Godly emotion? Could anger be of any good, after all?

Let me tell you a story; When I was young (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away …) I used to run 4 to 6 miles 3 to 5 times per week. Then I got married, moved to the US and worked as a computer programmer sitting down from 12 to 18 hrs per day 6 days per week.

When I turned 50 I realized how out of shape I was and decided to pick up running again. It took me 5 years to go from almost dying after walking 100 yards to running a 5k in 36 minutes, which is the average for my age group. 

And many of you know marriage is the ultimate test of patience and anger management one can endure, and I have been to the test for over 22 years. Most of the time we are good but sometimes we get really angry. It was one of those days I had PMS (my wife’s explanation for my wrath) steam blasting out of my ears and I heard God tell me: “Go for a run”.

I don’t want to run now, I just want to be angry! But I complied. Got my running shoes and darted out. I ran a 5k in 33 minutes and 18 seconds, completely obliterating any other records. This is a 15 to 20 years younger age group 5k time! And then it hit me: “Could anger be used for good things?”

There are emotions that athletes identify to help them, being anger by far the most common. But it is a fine balance. In competitive sports if you get angry at your opponent you lose objectivity, but if you get angry at yourself, then you push harder, you will go further and most importantly FEAR subsides. 

When I was running a 5k in 36 minutes I feared that I would pass out or bust a knee or something stupid if I pushed harder, until I got angry and fear disappeared. 

If you fear your future, you won’t face it. If you are complacent with your present you won’t push yourself harder. So a healthy amount of anger is key to winning. And the biggest tool the enemy has on you is doubt. Healthy anger can shatter any fear and doubt out of the way. “Just do It”.

Very important to understand is that you CANNOT violate someone else’s rights. You CANNOT! The minute your anger violates anyone’s space, rights, opinion, beliefs, etc. YOU ARE WRONG, very wrong. If you do this you are not leveraging anger to advance. You are just a bully.

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, Ephesians 4:26 NKJV

Being angry (not mad) with a loved one or yourself can be a Godly thing.
And no, the opposite of Love is not Anger. The opposite of Love is Indifference.