Righteous Anger And A Godly Cause
One thing everyone standing for marriage restoration could use a lot more of is righteous anger. Yet as Christians, we seem to believe we’re not supposed to get angry, even though the Bible doesn’t say that. In fact, Ephesians 4:26-27 (KJV) says Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Or as the NLT says, And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
One of the most interesting examples of righteous anger in the Bible is when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple as found in Mark 11:, which says On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ” ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'” And John 2:13-17 says When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
So when we’re confronted with something so contrary to the written Word of God, such as adultery, marital separation or divorce, we SHOULD be angry. However, if we direct and focus our anger toward our spouses or the NCP )non-covenant person), we cross the line from righteous anger into sin, because our spouses, in-laws, and the NCPs are not our enemies as we see in Ephesians 6:12, which says For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Not only that, but we’re called to forgive those who hurt or sin against us, and we’re called to bless and pray for those who curse or mistreat us, as we see in Luke 6:28, which says bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. And it’s not easy to stay angry with someone while blessing and praying for them!
The story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, provides another very interesting and encouraging example of righteous anger. While we often hear about David’s courage, and the simplicity of his weapon, no one ever mentions David’s righteous anger, as clearly expressed in 1 Samuel 17:26, which says David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And that same righteous anger made him respond, in verse 29 (NKJV), to the discouragement and insults of his brothers by saying And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” And that’s the attitude anyone standing for marriage restoration needs. We need to understand that the cause is so much greater than our own self interest, and that the lord will provide EVERYTHING necessary for us to succeed; just as He did for David. And just like David, we can’t use the world’s weapons of warfare, because as 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And what an excellent example we see of that when we read the following passage of scripture from 1 Samuel 17:42-47:
He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Now that’s REALLY taking every thought captive and making them obedient to Christ, and a very good example for us to follow! The battle DOES belong to the Lord, and when we’re motivated by RIGHTEOUS anger and a Godly cause as we stand for our marriages, we will have the same kind of courage and confidence David had, and Nothing and NO ONE will be able to deter or discourage us and everyone watching will see the power and glory of God manifested in our lives by the restoration of our marriages! As Romans 8:31 says, What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?