IS IT WRONG TO BE ANGRY WITH GOD?
Sakkie Parsons
Someone wrote to me as follows:
May I get angry with God because He allow things to come my way or happen to me, His child, that I think are very bad and unpleasant?
I want to start then, before anyone reading here might think:
“It’s easy for you Sakkie to talk, but you don’t know what difficult circumstances are.”
I could have mentioned a lot, but I will suffice by just mentioning the following from my own life to show; I know what difficult circumstances are:
In 1978, the sight I still had deteriorated rapidly, until I could no longer see my children’s faces and today, I am completely blind.
In 1997 they discovered melanoma cancer in me and when I asked what my chances were, the doctor said that if they couldn’t stop it, I had 3, and if I was lucky 6 months to live.
In 2012, the neurologist told us that my wife had dementia and the most terrifying 7 years of my life began, which ended in 2019, when my wife went to be with Jesus.
So, if you talk to me about difficult times in one’s life, I can say:
I know what you’re talking about, I was there and I still am, as far as my visual impairment is concerned.
Now, just a quick word about being angry:
One can also be angry, and not sin – and as usual I share with you two examples from the Word, but this anger has nothing to do with sinful anger, such as ‘lifting your heel’ (to oppose/ become angry/become an enemy) against your Creator.
MARK 3:5 After looking around at them with anger, (He was angry, not with sinful anger, but with compassionate sorrow), grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand.” And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.
JOHN 2:14-15
14And in the temple [enclosure] He found the people who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at their tables. 15He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
Now read about the compassionate care for the helpless pigeons in their cages. Jesus does not overturn the pigeons’ cages, and this while He is filled with holy anger at what they are doing in the temple.
JOHN 2:16 then to those who sold the doves He said, (He did not touch their goods): “Take these things away! (the cages with the defenceless doves)
Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!”
In His holy anger, Jesus knew that if He overturned the pigeon cages, those defenceless doves would be injured and experience fear and trauma.
All this despite the fact that this incident has also been written about:
JOHN 2:17 His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “ZEAL (love, concern) FOR YOUR HOUSE [and its honor] WILL CONSUME ME.”
Now back to the question; of whether I may or may not be angry with our Lord, about what is happening in my life, my answer to begin with is:
Definitely absolutely, No, No, No!
This is a sin against our Lord.
All sin is sin against our Lord, but being angry with God, from my human point of view, is an even worse, a straight offense against our Lord, and it is only so much worse when I remember who and what I am, and who HE is against whom I ‘raise my heel’ (get angry with).
We are talking here about God Almighty, Creator of the universe and also about me and in my case, we are also talking about my Lord and Saviour, who love me so much that He went and hung on the cross for me, so that I could inherit eternal life.
This is the Lord I am angry with, and to put it this way, against whom I lift my heel (be disappointed, turn my back on, make an enemy).
Now remember, I’m not talking about people in the world. They don’t know what they’re doing.
Who am I talking about here?
I am talking about a Christian.
Someone who confesses that; I have accepted Jesus, God who became man, this God who is love, as my Lord and Savior.
1JOHN 4:8-10
8The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]
9By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.
10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God’s requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath].
There is of course a reason why many Christians feel they have the right to be angry with God – and that is because of the false gospel that is preached directly or indirectly from the pulpit by so many preachers; that if I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I am now His follower, then my life must be always good and prosperous – especially, some preachers will add directly or in a subtle way, if I still contribute generously financially to the income of the congregation where he is the pastor.
Now things are not happening as they were wrongly taught – and now they are, in most cases through their ignorance, sinning against God Almighty.
Let me just quickly show you before I go any further what our Lord teach us in His precious Word regarding this evil lie that is preached from many pulpits – that a Christian who is concerned with this world will always do well.
JOB 5:7-8
“For man is born for trouble,
[As naturally] as sparks fly upward.g (That is so certain)
8“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him, (without lifting your heel against Him)
And I (you His child, as His child) would commit my cause to God; (in humble humility)
JOB 14:1-3
1“Man, who is born of a woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
2“Like a flower he comes forth and withers;
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. (As far as this life is concerned)
Sin entered this world through man, and with sin came death (and everything in between).
ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.
So, don’t believe the nonsense preached by satan from some pulpits, that a child of God will always be well-off and prosperous according to human standards.
That’s simply not the truth.
I showed you that one can become angry without sinning.
My great hero Paul put it this way:
EPH 4:25-26
25Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ].
26BE ANGRY [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], YET DO NOT SIN; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down.
If you become angry with our Lord, satan has twisted and distorted your anger so much that you, as a meek human being, a creature of the Creator, now question God your Creator and His omniscience, and this while you are thinking at that moment, you have every right to do so:
ROM 9:20-21
20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21Does the potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump [of clay] one object for honorable use [something beautiful or distinctive] and another for common use [something ordinary or menial]?
ISA 45:9 “Woe (judgment is coming) to him who (blame) quarrels with his Maker—
A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]!
Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or does the thing say, (He is incompetent because..) ‘He has no hands’?
For you have now, through your sinful anger, taken your eyes off our Lord and turned away from Him, and through your anger you see the lie, namely the evil that God do or allow and so satan remind you, while he hold your hand and encourage you to move even further away from God by telling you: “Then He still says, you are His child.”
Whereas – If you kept your eyes on our Lord all the time through what is happening to you, you would hear His voice – and would see and experience what exactly you as a child of God should see and experience, namely:
JOHN 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
When I keep my eyes on Jesus Christ, I look at everything that happen to me and come my way in my life while staying close to my God and Savior’s Feet and I remember:
ROM 8:28 28And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
What a Christian/follower of Jesus who become, or is angry with God must realize, or as a matter of great urgency must be brought to attention, is that he/she has now become so far removed from God that he/she can no longer see God’s characteristics and is becoming close to the place that he/she no longer wants to hear God’s voice.
And if you continue on that path following satan, you will later move so far from God that you will no longer be able to return to our Lord, because you no longer want to return to our Lord:
HEB 6:4-6
4For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, 6and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.
What character qualities am I talking about that a Christian who is angry with God, and is now so far from God through his/her anger, that he/she can no longer see it?
I will just mention a few that are relevant in this writing as examples:
Character nature such as love, mercy and care.
Therefore, child of God – Like all your other sins – Take your evil transgression of anger against our Lord to our loving God of mercy and empathy, while also recognizing one of His other characteristics, that He is a merciful God full of forgiveness, who wait with open arms for you to come and live in His divine closeness again.
JAMES 4:7-8
7So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.
8Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].
PHIL 4:7 7And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
Then you should no longer believe the wrong you were taught – but concentrate on the following – and the evil of being disappointed or angry towards God will not even enter your mind.
PHIL 4:8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
I do hope that those who want to mitigate or lessen the severity of the sin of being angry with God and even proclaim that it is sometimes permissible, will see the terrifying consequences that can result from being angry with God through this writing.
Now I bless you who have read this far with thefollowing passage from our Lord’s precious Word:
HEB 13:20-21
20Now may the God of peace [the source of serenity and spiritual well-being] who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood that sealed and ratified the eternal covenant, 21equip you with every good thing to carry out His will and strengthen you [making you complete and perfect as you ought to be], accomplishing in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Sakkie
Email: bediening@sakkieparsons.co.za
Website: www.sakkieparsons.co.za
Cell: 083 457 6669
Jude 1:24-25 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
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