Here at Christian Minimalism, we try to focus on the aspects of life that matter most, and intentionally remove everything else– while also connecting minimalism to our faith and our relationship with God (spirituality).

One of the aspects of life that matters most is self-care. There are various categories of self-care: physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, relational/social, financial, and spiritual. Emotional self-care isn’t a category that we typically think of first when we think of taking care of ourselves, but it is an important one. (If you want to read more about emotional self-care, check out the Self-Care chapter in the Christian Minimalism book.)

Today, we are going to explore a specific facet of emotional care: anger.

Be Angry

Western society has a complicated relationship with anger. In certain situations, especially ones that are seen as depicting masculine power, anger is welcomed and applauded. But in many other situations, anger is not considered appropriate and people are encouraged to swallow their anger.

Our emotions are part of who God created us to be. St. Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Jesuits and Ignatian spirituality) truly believed that our emotions are a big part of our spiritual lives and can help us in our spiritual journeys.

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.

Ephesians 4:26

Here we see that anger can be an acceptable emotional response, as long as it does not cause us to sin and open us to evil. So, anger can be expressed, as long as it is not destructive anger. More on that in a minute.

Often the “do not let the sun go down on your anger” is used as a piece of advice like “don’t go to bed angry.” Not going to bed angry may be good advice in most circumstances– but what this phrase means in a broader sense is that we shouldn’t let anger fester. When we shove our emotions down, anger included, it can cause all sorts of issues for us.

Destructive Anger

Destructive anger is when we give in to our sinful brokenness when we are angry, and we hurt others or ourselves in the process.

One given to anger stirs up strife,
    and the hothead causes much transgression.

Proverbs 29:22

Most (if not all!) of us have done some things we aren’t proud of when we got angry; when we are led by destructive anger, devastation can ensue. Often when we recognize that we acted out of destructive anger and apologize to the people(s) who were affected, and repent (ask for forgiveness and try to do better next time), we can reverse the devastation that destructive anger causes. But there are also times that acting out of destructive anger can cause irreparable damage to a relationship/s, even with an apology. This passage from Proverbs reminds us that we cannot be led by destructive anger.

Righteous Anger

Righteous anger is different than destructive anger. While destructive anger hurts people, righteous anger is an anger that stems from seeing people getting hurt and wanting to do something about it. We experience righteous anger when we witness injustice motivated by human sin/brokenness, and when we see things happening that are not in line with God’s unconditional love for all people and what God wants for us and the world. While destructive anger is usually driven by our own flawed motivations and sometimes even revenge, righteous anger points outward and is driven by a desire for justice and wholeness.

Jesus experienced righteous anger, and many instances of his righteous anger are recorded. Here’s just one example:

Again [Jesus] entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. [The Pharisees] were watching him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Mark 3:1-5

Jesus experiences righteous anger when the religious leaders put their rules and regulations before caring for others. Motivated by his righteous anger, Jesus heals the man, even though the healing occurs on the Sabbath and the religious leaders would consider that a violation of the religious law at the time.

Just as it did for Jesus in this story, righteous anger typically brings us to action. When we witness injustice, and we experience righteous anger about it, we are driven to do something about it. Righteous anger motivates us to do God’s work in the world, to love and care for others the way God intended.

How is God inviting and calling you through righteous anger to take action against injustice and care for others?