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Anger—Get the Language Right
“K
by Greg Grotewold
now this, my beloved brothers: let every person
anger, in other words, is a function of some perceived injustice
be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to
being placed upon me.
anger” (James 1:19, ESV).
Euphemisms carry great utility. They allow me to frame
As blood-bought Christians, we need to open our eyes to reality. We should be very thankful we get what we don’t
a difficult issue or event in a way that masks the dread
deserve and don’t get what we do deserve. The very foundation
connected to it. People don’t die, for example; they pass away.
of our salvation falls on the unmerited blessings we receive
This selective substitution comes in handy particularly in the context of my own sin. Through the use of more convenient, less convicting language, I can veil certain inconvenient truths of the flesh. I’m not stubborn; I’m decisive. I’m not impatient; I’m diligent. The danger here is somewhat obvious. In addition to fooling others, I also end up fooling myself for it makes the sin if not admirable, at least tolerable. And herein lays the problem. Things that are tolerated, by definition, aren’t remediated and consequently will only lead to more of the same. My euphemistic zeal doesn’t stop at stubbornness and impatience, though. There is another inconvenient truth I reframe. It’s anger. This one is particularly interesting for the language serves two purposes: one, it places the emotion
from our Lord. Two of Jesus’ most cherished attributes—His
in a more favorable light; and two, it with great subtlety places
mercy and grace—should dismantle any claims to anger we
the blame onto someone else, making me not the instigator of
have when we feel slighted by others. “For all have sinned and
the sin but rather a victim of it. I’m not angry; I am frustrated,
fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV). “But God,
hurt, concerned, and/or perplexed. The language becomes a
being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
powerful weapon in transferring guilt.
loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made
Clearly, there is such a thing as righteous anger. Paul states in Ephesians 4:26: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun
us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV).
go down on your anger” (ESV, italics mine). The conjunction
Jesus deserved unadulterated love; He received unfiltered
“and” makes clear that there is a form of anger that isn’t sin.
disgrace. We deserve unfiltered disgrace; we receive—because
Case in point: the sinless Savior overturned out of anger the
Jesus bore our unfiltered disgrace on the cross—unadulterated
tables of the money changers in the temple. (Matthew 21:12).
love. Given what the blood-bought sinner has received in light
Righteous anger is a reaction to attacks on God's righteousness. In other words, we are just in our anger if it’s
of what we deserve, we should never play the injustice card. The first step in countering our anger is to call it what it is.
directed at that which defames, belittles, or distorts the glory of
Analyze the language you use when describing the emotion.
God. That which upsets God, like His name being minimalized
It may reveal that what you thought in fact was a righteous
or ridiculed, should upset us.
reaction to an injustice is anything but.
The anger I carry is not frequently tied to God’s glory defamed. I get upset when I don’t get what I think I deserve, and I get upset when I do get what I think I don’t deserve. My
32 // February 2022
About The Author
being defamed. It is frequently tied, however, to my glory being
Greg Grotewold lives in Oakdale, MN, with his wife, Sandi, and their two sons, Luke and Eli. He is a deacon in his local church and greatly enjoys serving in this capacity.
