Anger’s Judgement – 1 Corinthians 6:1-3

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

So far we have talked about what causes anger, and about the power of anger. The main thesis has been that anger by itself is neither good or bad, but is a sign of a deeper pain. In “Anger’s Power” we discussed the good or bad part. Anger based on a violation of God’s values is more righteous than anger based on a bruise to our ego. Today I would like to look at ways we can evaluate the anger we are confronted with in ourselves or someone else.

There is a touching story in 1 Samuel about the friendship between David and the son of King Saul, Jonathan. Saul has been stricken by a wild jealousy of David. The jealousy has roused a fit of powerful anger in Saul and he tries several times to skewer David on a spear. David escapes only to be reconciled to Saul by the efforts of his friend Jonathan.

But Saul is not fully reconciled. In no time at all he is back at it, trying to pin David to the wall with his spear. David runs and once again Jonathan reaches out to him. Jonathan refuses to believe that his father would swear that he would not kill David and then turn around and break his word. David proposes a test. Jonathan is to return to his father’s table and David says:

“If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me.” (1 Samuel 20: 6-7)

As it turns out Saul loses his temper in a big way. Jonathan is finally convinced that what David says is true.

Jonathan and David both have to make a judgment. Not the kind of judgment that judges people’s souls. Instead, they had to make a judgment about the source of Saul’s anger. Was it based on the selfless agapē, or did it spring from Saul’s love of himself (philautos)?

Saul felt threatened by David. In a rage, he yells at Jonathan, “As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!” (Saul is trying to hang on to that which God has taken away from him.)

In Luke 12:57 Jesus says to the people, “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?”

In John 7: 24 Jesus says, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Then, in 1 Corinthians 5:12, Paul writes, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?”

We are not to judge the worthiness of the soul, but we do need to judge that actions of those around us. How else will we be able to help each other walk the path God has set before us?

Sometimes, like Saul, a person’s anger is rooted in very personal issues. Fear and jealousy are horrible taskmasters. Other times, a person’s anger is rooted in offense at what is obviously wrong. When Jonathan realizes that his father has lied and has determined to kill an innocent man, he is appalled. Scripture says:

“Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.” (1 Samuel 20:34)

Jonathan’s anger is a righteous anger. It is rooted in his love for David. If he hadn’t cared for David or his father, he would have brushed the whole thing off without a second thought. But he did care. He cared deeply. Because of his deep love for David, his anger was fierce.

Action: When confronted by a question of who to believe, be willing to test the situation to learn the truth.

Food for Thought: How do we discern what is ours to judge and what is not ours to judge?