Articles
When I'm Angry
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And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, "Each of you is exacting usury from his brother." So I called a great assembly against them. (Neh. 5:6-7)
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Nehemiah had every reason to be angry. During the middle of a desperate rebuilding project, the aristocracy were extorting the poor for personal profit (v. 1-5). Their greed was undermining the morale of the people at a time when the nation could ill afford internal strife.
Nehemiah was furious at their predatory behavior--but he didn’t say anything until he had given “serious thought” to how to respond (or ESV, "I took counsel with myself"). Nehemiah was wise enough to recognize that anything he said at that moment would likely be harmful, not helpful. So he gave himself some time to cool off and think through how to respond to the crisis.
Contrast the composure of Nehemiah with Moses, whose intemperate anger caused him to "speak rashly with his lips" (Num. 20:10-12; Psa. 106:32-33). He lost his opportunity to see the Promised Land because he failed to keep his temper in check.
Jesus was angry, too (Mk. 3:1-5)--which proves that anger is not a sin, but a perfectly natural emotion to be managed rather than eliminated. Like Nehemiah, Jesus knew how to keep His anger under control. Instead of blowing up at His critics, He channeled His anger into constructive action by healing the disabled man. He made His point without making a fool of Himself.
If we never get angry, that's not a strength. In fact, it's a character defect; we have a problem with apathy, a spirit of indifference that renders us almost useless in the pursuit of excellence. There are some things in life that we ought to be angry about, and we sin if we do not get upset. But even in those cases, our anger must be throttled by careful reflection. If we keep our anger on a hair trigger and explode at every provocation, we may get our way in the moment, but the end result will likely make the situation worse. And we, too, will forfeit our chance to reach our own Promised Land.
Nehemiah's ability to keep his anger under control resolved the crisis, restored unity, and got the project back on track (v. 8-19). We must learn to do the same.
--David
