How should a Christian handle anger?

Anger is one of those emotions that Christians sometimes feel they are not supposed to have — and then feel guilty when they inevitably do. The Bible gives a more nuanced picture than "anger is always wrong."

There is such a thing as righteous anger. God Himself is described as angry at sin and injustice throughout Scripture (Psalm 7:11). Jesus was angry — He drove out the money changers from the temple (John 2:13-17), and Mark 3:5 records Him looking at the Pharisees "with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart." Anger at genuine evil, injustice, and cruelty is not sin — it is the appropriate moral response of someone who cares about what is right.

Ephesians 4:26 acknowledges this: "Be angry and do not sin." The command is not "never be angry" — it is "be angry without sinning." Paul immediately adds: "Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." Unresolved anger, nursed and fed overnight, becomes something much darker — bitterness, resentment, and eventually destructive behaviour.

James 1:19-20 gives a practical principle: "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Human anger — particularly the self-protective, pride-driven anger that most of us default to — rarely produces anything good. The person who flies into rage, speaks harshly, and retaliates is not serving righteousness; they are serving their own wounded ego.

The practical path: when you feel anger rising, slow down before speaking. Ask yourself what is actually driving the anger — is it genuine injustice, or wounded pride? Bring it to God in prayer before you bring it to the person. Pursue reconciliation quickly. And guard against the transition from righteous anger to sinful bitterness by not letting it fester.