Wrath

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – James 1.19-20 

Anger seems to be part and parcel of getting things done today. There seems to be an idea that to get anything done you have to get angry. The bad thing is that is too often works. People do respond when someone gets angry. There is truth to the old axiom ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ Anger, if handled properly, can get things done.  

Wrath, on the other hand, is a terrible thing. I think about the things I do or the thoughts I think or the attitudes I adopt when I am angry. I have never acted godly when I am full of wrath. Wrath has never improved my walk with God. We hear about ‘righteous anger’ yet James tells us that the wrath of man does not produce God’s righteousness. 

The issue here is one of defining these words. They are close, but not synonymous. Anger is the natural human response to a perceived injustice. Anger happens, Paul admits that in Ephesians when he writes ‘be angry…’ but that it not the end of the sentence. He completes it with ‘…but do not sin.’ 

Anger should motivate us to deal with the situation that caused it. Sometimes it is caused by a misperception on our part. Sometimes something is done truly offends us. Either way our goal should be to deal with the situation and not let wrath control us. Being angry with our sin or with wicked situations should lead us to rectify it with a godly spirit. 

Too often though my anger leads to wrath and as I said above wrath does nothing. Wrath seeks vengeance. Wrath leads to sinful actions. While anger, if properly handled, can lead to righteousness wrath only leads to more problems.