📊 James 1:19-20 | Righteous vs. Sinful Anger

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Know this, my ________ brothers: let every person be quick to ____, slow to _____, slow to ______;

for the anger of man does not _______ the ____________ of God.

James 1:19-20

Today, let's look at the verses surrounding our memory verse.

Right after telling us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, James keeps going.

The "implanted word" here is the gospel — the saving message of God that took root in us when we were born again. James tells us to keep receiving it, humbly, so it can keep saving and shaping us.

This word is meant to be lived. We can sit under Sunday sermons for years and say all of the right “Christian things,” yet still live an unchanged life.

James calls this self-deception and in verse 26, he calls it worthless.

To bridle the tongue is to direct and restrain your speech with self-control (aka be slow to speak and slow to anger).

Which begs the question: What kind of anger is James referring to? Isn’t there such a thing as righteous anger?

Yes. There is real, righteous anger.

God gets angry, and his anger is always aimed at sin and injustice. Jesus felt it too. He looked at hard, unmoved hearts and was both grieved and angry (Mark 3:5).

But sinful anger is a different animal.

Here’s one of the most helpful ways I’ve learned to tell the difference between sinful anger and righteous anger.

Here’s a real life example.

We were at a wedding a few weeks ago with the whole family (4 kids included). During the ceremony, our two-year old was getting antsy and kept trying to talk to me.

We were surrounded by people I didn’t know and while I did care about not disturbing others during the ceremony, if I’m honest, I felt embarrassed that my kid was the one making noise.

Because I felt like that was reflecting poorly on me. Other people are going to think I’m a bad father, I thought.

And I don’t know about you, but I want people to think I’m a good father!

I was angry in the moment, but the anger was way more about me than it was about my two-year old.

In other words, my anger was me guarding my pride, not God’s glory.

📖 Read: Read James 1 again, slowly, with a particular focus on verses 19 to 27.

👂️ Reflect: The next time you find yourself feeling angry, pause and ask yourself: why am I angry right now? Is my anger defending God’s glory? Or is it guarding my pride?

🙏 Pray

Father, you see how fast I am to speak and how quickly I can get angry. I feel justified in the moment but shortly after, realize that it’s because I’m caring about my pride and ego. This week, do work in my heart. Through your Spirit, make me more Christlike. Amen.

Click one of the options below to choose your answer. Let’s see how you do…

Know this, my beloved brothers: 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.

James 1:19-20