Anger in the Bible: Examples of Unrighteous Anger vs. Righteous Anger

Anger in the Bible can be either righteous or unrighteous anger. God describes himself as “slow to anger” (Exodus 34:6) rather than never angry, while the sinless Jesus expresses his anger over the hardness of people’s hearts (Mark 3:1-6; John 2:14-16). From these and many other instances in the Bible, we can see that it is possible to be good and angry.

Whether anger is righteous or unrighteous depends on:

• The real reason for our anger.
• How we express our anger.
• What we are intending to produce by our anger.

These three aspects are driven by what we desire in our hearts.

Unrighteous anger in the Bible

Unrighteous anger or “human anger” as it is referred to in the book of James is sinful anger. Like all emotions, anger can be good or bad depending on what our hearts want. If we desire God’s glory, we can be righteously angry when God is rejected and evil acts take place. If we desire selfish things and don’t get them, we can become unrighteously angry and impatient, passive-aggressive, or even violent.

As we are created in God’s image and are being transformed in our character to reflect Jesus, our anger should be aligned with God’s anger. To better understand this we need to learn more about God. What then does God get angry about? What types of anger are warranted as seen in the Bible?

It is good to be angry about these 10 things:

Righteous anger in the Bible is expressed by God when people do not love Him or their neighbors. Biblical counselor David Powlinson in his book Good and Angry provides a helpful summary of what makes God angry:

• Betrayal and treason.
• Lies, gross misrepresentation of another, character defamation.
• Hypocrisy.
• Laziness, workaholism, or a harsh taskmaster.
• Stubbornness, rebellion, and backtalk.
• Murder and physical abuse.
• Sexual betrayal or abuse.
• Cheating and stealing.
• Slander and gossip.
• Entitlement and greed.

Does this list sound familiar? It is simply a paraphrase of the ten commandments given to Moses in Exodus 20:1-17, adapted to our everyday experiences. These here are righteous reasons for anger.

Is there anything on this list that you don’t feel strongly enough about? Where have you become apathetic or tolerant of evil?

How should we act when we are righteously angry?

Righteous anger is when our anger is aligned with God’s, when we hate what he hates, and we respond to the situation in a godly manner. Righteous anger is constructive, rather than destructive. It seeks to make things right, to do good.

The godly response when we are righteously angry is mercy. Mercy is not a free pass, enabling others to continue in their sin. However, mercy is patient with others, and slow to anger.

Mercy is forgiving, not seeking to get even or get revenge, but it doesn’t ignore or excuse what is wrong. Mercy is grace-filled, moving toward the person with undeserved acts of kindness. Mercy means entering into constructive conflict to redeem, not win or destroy.

Need help with your unrighteous anger?

Anger can be a difficult emotion to understand and control. If you are regularly angry and notice its destructive impact on your life and relationships, please seek help from a trained biblical counselor. Call the office today to schedule an appointment.