There is an abundance of "angry Christians" today, especially in America. You see them, with placards or protests, rants on radio or facebook; it is not hard to miss them. They are mad about how people live, about how they worship (or don't worship), about how they vote (or don't vote), about what sins someone is committing in their eyes.
I wonder if they stop to think....what good does their anger do?
There are times to have righteous anger, but we must always guard against the ever present temptation of self righteousness and pride. We should remember that Christ's anger was mainly directed at the religious conservatives of His day, who were full of self righteousness and legalism, and against those who made money off of the House of God and the poor.
Jesus didn't go around yelling at the average person for falling into sin, He acknowledged them, formed a bond with them, loved them and helped them turn from sin towards God. There wasn't anger shown, there was compassion. There wasn't righteous anger shown at them (and He is the only one who could be self righteous!) but understanding. He connected with them and they were transformed by knowing Him.
When an angry Christian yells and rants and scolds, over and over, day in and day out, they don't bring anyone any closer to knowing Jesus Christ. The unbeliever sees such behavior and thinks, "Man, they are an ***, I don't want anything to do with them or their faith. Who wants any part of that?" Or the new Christian, just beginning, is scolded over and over by a legalistic Christian, and walks away from the faith. Or a faithful Christian is forced to leave their Church home of many years because the Pastor or lay ministers keep mocking them for their political stance.
Your words and attitude with either bring people closer to the God you love and serve, or push them away from Him. How will you feel when you stand before God and He wants an accounting of your words? Will you be able to say, "Lord, I tried as best I could to show love, grace and mercy to the people you put in my life?"
I wonder if they stop to think....what good does their anger do?
There are times to have righteous anger, but we must always guard against the ever present temptation of self righteousness and pride. We should remember that Christ's anger was mainly directed at the religious conservatives of His day, who were full of self righteousness and legalism, and against those who made money off of the House of God and the poor.
Jesus didn't go around yelling at the average person for falling into sin, He acknowledged them, formed a bond with them, loved them and helped them turn from sin towards God. There wasn't anger shown, there was compassion. There wasn't righteous anger shown at them (and He is the only one who could be self righteous!) but understanding. He connected with them and they were transformed by knowing Him.
When an angry Christian yells and rants and scolds, over and over, day in and day out, they don't bring anyone any closer to knowing Jesus Christ. The unbeliever sees such behavior and thinks, "Man, they are an ***, I don't want anything to do with them or their faith. Who wants any part of that?" Or the new Christian, just beginning, is scolded over and over by a legalistic Christian, and walks away from the faith. Or a faithful Christian is forced to leave their Church home of many years because the Pastor or lay ministers keep mocking them for their political stance.
Your words and attitude with either bring people closer to the God you love and serve, or push them away from Him. How will you feel when you stand before God and He wants an accounting of your words? Will you be able to say, "Lord, I tried as best I could to show love, grace and mercy to the people you put in my life?"
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