WWJD: What would Jesus Do?

Scripture: Ephesians 4: 26-27 -  Be angry, and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Have you ever said, “Lord, I’m angry and truthfully, I am struggling with not sinning?” As things in this world get crazier and crazier many find themselves struggling to contain their anger in such a way that they represent Christ well. Some people say that people of color have no reason to be angry because a small percentage of them are doing very well and others are doing fairly well. While others believe it does not matter how well people are doing, mistreatment is mistreatment. Then there are some who believe that anger is not warranted if you are American (even if you live beneath the poverty line) because at least you are in America, the land of opportunity. Then there are those people who believe racism does not really exist so there is no need to be angry about it. However, we know that discrimination and blatant mistreatment of a people because of ethnicity, class, and/or gender is in the Bible, even though the word racism is not. Consider how children, women, foreigners, beggars, and the disabled were treated in Biblical times. Think about the strife between the Jews and the Samaritans. Remember how Peter, a disciple, felt about the Gentiles until his beliefs were challenged (Acts 10: 9-23). Discrimination and hate, toward a specific group, is not a new phenomenon; it has been around for centuries. Jesus, Himself, faced discrimination. The question is not do these horrendous acts or beliefs exist, but how as a Christian are you responding to them? How do you respond when you experience discrimination or see mistreatment of others? Can you be angry and sin not? Can you do as Luke 6:27 instructs, love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you?

Have you ever pondered the reasons why you should not be angry but realized that those reasons did not change your anger? Have you heard about righteous anger or righteous indignation and thought, “does that fit for me”? Righteous indignation is typically a reactive emotion of anger over mistreatment, insult, or malice of another. It is similar to what we call the sense of injustice. However, righteous anger, seeks to restore while unrighteous anger seeks to destroy. Recall, Jesus was angry when he turned over the tables in the temple (Mark 11: 15-18). Jesus displayed righteous anger because His intention was to restore the temple. Unrighteous anger seeks to destroy -- property, people, or lives.

The Bible says, be angry and sin not, do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give place to the devil. God is ‘telling us that you can be angry but don’t sin. God is telling us that anger will happen but deal with it forthwith instead of letting it fester or linger -- but deal with it in a godly way. God is telling us that even though some situations will make us angry we cannot allow it to consume us because Satan will use that anger to destroy our testimony and maybe even our lives. Unfortunately, we don’t always do that. Oftentimes, the situations in a person’s life consumes him/her. His thoughts stray and many times he has to force himself to remember what the Lord said about how to deal with anger. When faced with an emotional situation, have you ever asked yourself, “What would Jesus do”? The Bible tells us that Jesus understands our feelings because He has experienced everything that we have experienced but He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). We should remember that Jesus was a victim of discrimination. Jesus was the stone that the builders rejected. His own people rejected Him. The Roman soldiers beat Jesus beyond recognition (Isaiah 52:14) for a crime for which He was not guilty. Moreover, one of His closest friends denied even knowing Him to protect himself (John 18:13-27). Asking what would Jesus do reminds me of how Jesus restored the soldier whose intention was to hurt him in the Garden (Luke 22:51). Asking what would Jesus do reminds me of how Jesus protected a woman about to be stoned (John 8). Asking what would Jesus do reminds me of how Jesus asked God to forgive those who persecuted Him (Luke 23:34). Nonetheless, as hard as we may try, we are not Jesus and sometimes we struggle with being angry and not sinning. Sometimes, we struggle with having righteous anger.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your example of righteous anger. Thank You, for the helmet of salvation that protects our mind so that our thoughts can be contained. Thank You, for Your Word that directs us. In addition, thank You for the Holy Spirit that helps us live righteously. Forgive us when we fail to represent You well. Although, things cause us much sadness, despair, and, we are ever so grateful for the power of restraint and for grace and mercy for the times that we allow our anger to get the best of us. Thank You for the example of Your Son, Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

(by PatTowns)