Suffering Anger
Mark 3:1-6
This past year has been filled with violence and protests. We see it in the news over and over. We are angered by the mistreatment of others. And at the same time we feel such sadness for our world. We wish for a world filled with love for our fellow man. We wish for a world with less judgement and more friendship.
Jesus expressed those same feelings of discouragement. He was approached by a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. He knew the Pharisees were watching Him. He asked the man to stand up and then spoke to the crowd about doing good or evil on the sabbath. The Pharisees remained silent.
It angered Jesus to see the Pharisees harden their hearts toward Him. He was angered by their evil ways. They saw His miracles. They saw His glory. They saw His power and it worried them. Rather than accepting the Messiah they became stubborn and plotted against Jesus. “God is a righteous judge, a God who is angry at evil every single day.” Psalm 7:11
And at the same time, Jesus was saddened by their attitudes. Jesus wants all men to be saved. He wants all men to come to Him for forgiveness and everlasting life including the Pharisees. His heart grieved for their souls even though they were plotting against Him. Jesus tells us to love those who are against us. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44
Anger is not a weakness but a strength if it is for the right reason and we control our actions. Anger must be:
- caused by an unselfish reason, caused by mistreatment of others
- kept under control, it must not produce irrational actions
- and anger should not create feelings of wanting to cause others pain
Anger is our hearts ways of saying a situation is evil. It is our heart wanting to experience goodness and mercy in our world. But we must let God be the judge. We are to love everyone, even our enemies, and seek to bring them to Jesus.