Scripture is well acquainted with injustice. So how does the Bible, overall, describe anger?
Let’s take a look:
- Pentateuch: Anger is described as “fierce” and “cruel” in Genesis 49:7 (NIV). It’s “burning” in Exodus 11:8. In the same book, it’s also described as a “blazing fury,” and if you’re not careful, it can “blaze against you” (Exodus 15:7; 22:24 NLT). In Leviticus 26:8, anger is something given “full vent” and equated with “hostility” (NLT). In Deuteronomy 7:4, it is associated with the words “burn” and “destroy” (NIV).
- Histories: In 1 Samuel 20:30, we see an anger that “boil[s] with rage” (NLT). Anger “will not be quenched,” according to 2 Kings 22:17 (NIV). In 2 Samuel 6:8, it “burst[s] out” (NLT); in Job 4:9, it “blast[s]” (NIV); and in Job 16:9, God Himself, in anger, “tears” and “pierces” (NLT).
- Psalms: Anger is terrifying and fierce in Psalm 2:5. It’s burning and consuming in Psalm 69:24, then smoldering intensely in Psalm 74.
- Prophets: In Isaiah 9:12, it’s associated with a fist poised to strike. In chapter 30, it’s demonstrated with flames, cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and hailstones (verse 30). In Isaiah 63:3, it tramples. And it doesn’t exactly chill out in Lamentations. The words “engulfed” and “slaughtered” are used in chapter 3, verse 43 (NLT).
I’m not cherry-picking. There just aren’t lots of references to anger in the Bible as something wonderful.
The ‘Gift’ of Righteous Anger?
Today we’re often told anger is a “gift” for our use, when we feel it’s “reasonable.”
We’re also told we should be aroused to anger when we see one of God’s commands being broken. Really? Then we’re going to be busy … really, really busy. We’re also going to be really, really angry, all the time — and that’s just at ourselves, for starters.
Maybe I’m supposed to be angry that often, and maybe it really is a gift. Maybe it’ll make my life more joyful and peaceful … so long as I don’t also mind the burning, blazing, cloud-bursting, striking, thundering, hailing, tearing, piercing, trampling, slaughtering, boiling, and the occasional blasting.
If this is, in fact, what we’re supposed to do — experience “righteous anger” whenever we’re made aware of one of God’s commands being broken — we’ll be precisely what the world doesn’t need and largely believes we already are: a bunch of uptight, seething hypocrites.
The Bible actually directs us to get rid of anger (Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8), but our idea of “righteous anger” turns that directive on its head: We can actually pat ourselves on the back for being offended and embracing anger. And all that boiling, piercing, corrosive power becomes part of our lives — and destroys us.
Another Option: Being Unoffendable
Not only can we choose to be unoffendable; we should choose that.
We should forfeit our right to be offended. That means forfeiting our right to hold on to anger. When we do this, we’ll be making a sacrifice that’s very pleasing to God. It strikes at our very pride. It forces us not only to think about humility, but to actually be humble.
I used to think it was incumbent upon a Christian to take offense. I now think we should be the most refreshingly unoffendable people on a planet that seems to spin on an axis of offense.
Actually, it’s not even “forfeiting” a right, because the right doesn’t exist. We’re told to forgive (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-22), and that means anger has to go, whether we’ve decided our own anger is “righteous” or not.
Whose Anger Is Righteous?
We won’t often admit this, but we like being angry. We don’t like what caused the anger, to be sure; we just like thinking we’ve “got” something on someone. So-and-so did something wrong, sometimes horribly wrong, and anger offers us a sense of moral superiority.
That’s why we call it “righteous anger,” after all. It’s moral and good, we want to think.
Problem is, “righteous anger” directed at someone is pretty tricky. It turns out that I tend to find Brant Hansen’s anger more righteous than others’ anger. This is because I’m so darn right. I’m me. I tend to side with me. My arguments are amazingly convincing to me.
But inconveniently, there’s this proverb that says, “You may believe you are doing right, but the Lord will judge your reasons” (Proverbs 16:2 NCV).
So it’s not just me. We all, apparently, find ourselves pretty darn convincing. Of course my anger is righteous. It’s righteous because, clearly, I’m right and they’re wrong. My ways seem pure to me.
Always.
In the moment, everyone’s anger always seems righteous. Anger is a feeling, after all, and it sweeps over us and tells us we’re being denied something we should have. It provides its own justification.
But an emotion is just an emotion. It’s not critical thinking. Anger doesn’t pause. We have to stop, and we have to question it.
Anger Is Easy. Love Is Hard
We humans are experts at casting ourselves as victims and rewriting narratives that put us in the center of injustices. And we can repaint our anger or hatred of someone — say, anyone who threatens us — into a righteous-looking work of art.
And yet, remarkably, in Jesus’ teaching, there is no allowance for “Okay, well, if someone really is a jerk, then yeah — you need to be offended.” We’re flat-out told to forgive, even — especially! — the very stuff that’s understandably maddening and legitimately offensive.
That’s the whole point: The thing that you think makes your anger “righteous” is the very thing you are called to forgive. Grace isn’t for the deserving. Forgiving means surrendering your claim to resentment and letting go of anger.
Anger is extraordinarily easy. It’s our default setting.
Love is very difficult. Love is a miracle.
Hand It Over
We think we want a right to “righteous anger.” It takes a tremendous amount of humility, an extraordinary “dying to self” to hand over this desire, this job, this obsession, to God. But He made us, and He knows how we operate best.
He says to hand it over.
And He’s promising something of value that no one else — and literally, no other religion — promises.
He’s promising a release from the constant evaluation, never-ending striving, and relentless assessment of where we, and everyone else, stand.
He’s promising a better way of life. He’s holding it out to us, saying, “Hand over the garbage” — and He means it, because He loves us, and He has something better to offer. He’s offering peace.
What if you could break free from the cycle of offense and embrace a life of peace, joy, and forgiveness?
We live in an outrage culture. Social media thrives on anger, and people are more divided than ever. Anger feels justified — it gives us a sense of control and moral superiority. But it’s exhausting, isolating, and ultimately destructive. Studies show that chronic anger increases stress, damages relationships, and even harms physical health.
Living Unoffended: The Joy of Simple Peace in An Angry, Anxious World by bestselling author Brant Hansen offers a practical, faith-based roadmap to freedom from anger.
Brant Hansenis a nationally syndicated radio host and podcaster ofThe Brant and Sherri Oddcast. He works with CURE International, a worldwide network of hospitals that brings life-changing medical care and the good news of God’s love to children with treatable conditions. Brant lives in South Florida with his wife, Carolyn. You can find out more about the amazing work of CURE at cure.org, and you can follow Brant at Brant Hansen Page on Facebook, and @branthansen on Instagram and Twitter.
