There are those who teach that all anger is sin. They must mean all human anger. Even then, that ice is pretty thin. 

Anger should not be our first and best tool. Hammers alone cannot build homes or businesses. A team of builders can benefit from a whole range of tools. 

Jesus didn’t get angry often, but he did get angry when people made up rules to stack on top of God’s commandments. The commandment to observe the weekly sabbath became cluttered with unnecessary protections to prevent a person from approaching the point of sabbath disobedience. 

The simple command to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest came to mean, “Don’t lift anything over your head” and “Don’t walk farther than this many steps.” That wasn’t what God had in mind. 

Even those who made up and enforced their unnecessarily burdensome rules instead of God’s life-giving commands allowed for certain works of mercy and necessity. However, they tightly restricted what was allowable mercy and necessity. Healing a man whose hand was a useless burden didn’t make the list of approved interventions. 

This made Jesus angry. 

Anger is not always wrong. It arises when we see true injustice. It drives us to right wrongs. Therefore, Jesus healed a man and made a whole bunch of people angry. They became so angry that they were willing to work together with people they despised so that they could kill Jesus. 

How do you know anger has overstepped its bounds? When it wants to kill someone for doing something wonderful and miraculous. 

Anger is a powerful servant. It is a dangerous master. 

Join Jesus in observing the true intention of sabbath. Join him in works of mercy and necessity. Join him in righteous anger that sets wrongs right. Join him in remaining in control of anger and not allowing anger to control him.

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I will only get good and angry. 

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Our Father, thank you for blessing us with sabbath rest. Thank you for clear guidance regarding what is good and meaningful and what should be avoided on our sabbaths. Thank you for reminding us of the high value you place on mercy and necessity. Empower us to rest and to serve as situations demand. Teach us how to get good and angry, and never more. Amen.