The three-step plan to good anger
Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. But how do you reconcile that with his overturning of the tables in the temple? Or what about his heated debates with the Pharisees?
Should we display the same flashes of passion and anger at times?
Jesus allowed his divine anger to flare when he was defending his father's honor and rebuking liars who kept the truth from people. When it came to defending others, he stepped up.
But when people attacked him personally, he didn't resist in the typical human way. He saw it as an opportunity to love them in the midst of their sin, "for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
When we are personally insulted or attacked, we are to follow his example and look to the Lord to defend us. Our self-defense should be love.
But when God's name, his truth or his children are attacked – or when the poor or needy are taken advantage of – we are to respond with Jesus' fiery defense.
How do we know the difference between our anger and that of Christ? The first step is to slow down:
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" (James 1:19b-21).
The second step is to seek the outcome God would desire. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us discernment, words and guidance. Even in the heat of the moment.
Thirdly, and most importantly, we should love. If steps one and two slip our minds, we're safe just going with #3:
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you." (Lk 6:27) #Leadership endures personal wrongs.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019). For more information about the book, visit https://deepwaterbooks.com/.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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