Slow to Wrath

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” James 1:19

A classroom is an excellent place to learn the importance of being slow to wrath. Each morning I stand in front of a room full of students, each of whom has had widely varying experiences before getting to school.

Some have not slept well, others have family drama weighing on them, still others are wrapped up in some little thing that didn’t go their way or are reeling from a car ride with a tired, stressed, impatient parent.

As I look out over my class, I don’t know how their morning has gone, or what emotions may be lurking just under the surface. I do know that my job is to show them the love of God by teaching, training, and correcting them with loving consistency and firmness.

I have learned over the years that my attitude and words determine the climate of my classroom, and one of the biggest factors is having my own emotions under control, particularly in this matter of being slow to wrath.

While James 1:19 commands us to be slow to wrath, the very next verse tells us why it is so important for us to do so:

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

We may feel our anger or annoyance are rooted in a just cause, but if it is our anger, it is not working the righteousness of God.

A good illustration of this is found in Numbers 11. God had provided manna for the people of Israel, literally feeding them with a daily supply of bread from heaven. But after a while, the people began to whine and complain and long for the meat and vegetables of Egypt. Notice the two reactions in the following verse:

“Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of these people upon me?” (vv.10-11)

Israel’s sulking discontent was wrong, and the wrath of God Himself was justly stirred, but did you catch what Moses’ wrath was stirred over? He went to God, not humbly pleading for wisdom, provision, or guidance to lead the people well in this crisis: he went to God complaining about what a heavy burden the people were to him. In fact, he continues in the next few verses by complaining even more, even telling God that if this was the way it was going to be, he wished God would kill him right then.

You see, the wrath of man is centered on self.  I get angry at what others have done to me. I am furious at the child who has disobeyed my rule or treated me disrespectfully. I get annoyed when someone interrupts my schedule or takes up my time with something trivial. The wrath of man is about me.

God’s wrath is always centered around His holiness, righteousness, and justice. When I read through the books of the “minor prophets”, those short books of prophecy at the end of the Old Testament, I am always struck by the inseparable nature of God’s love and justice. His wrath is poured out on those who transgress against His righteousness, but His design is always to heal and restore the repentant.

He pours out His wrath because sin must be punished, but was willing to die to make a way for justice to be appeased while extending forgiveness to the repentant.

God’s wrath is also not impulsive like the wrath of man. We tend to fly off into a rage unpredictably and immediately, usually at something relatively small, but God sees the vast scope of all of eternity and waits for the right time to unleash His wrath.

In Genesis 15, God is giving Abram an overview of how His covenant is to be fulfilled. He pulls back the curtain of time just a little, telling Abram about how his descendants are going to go into Egypt, where they will eventually be enslaved. He tells Abram that He will bring them out again after four hundred years, freeing them while at the same time pouring out His judgement on the nation that mistreated His people.

That in itself is an example of God’s longsuffering, but verse 16 gives us yet another glimpse of God in His perfect justice being slow to wrath.  

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (v.16)

God could have spoken a word and destroyed all the people out of the land He had promised to Abram and his descendants, but He chose to wait four generations –about four hundred years– to bring His righteous wrath upon them. He knew the time was coming, He could see it just as clearly as He saw Abram standing there, but He chose to wait, to give the people four hundred years to repent, even knowing they would not choose to do so.

Six times in the Old Testament, God is referred to as being “slow to anger.” It is as much an attribute of God as is His justice, and if we are striving to reflect God’s character in our lives, we must learn to be slow to wrath as He is.

Proverbs has two verses that give us a clear picture of the benefits of being slow to wrath:

“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.” (15:18)

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty: and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” ( 16:32)

When we are slow to wrath, we help those around us not to be angry. We also demonstrate temperance, or self-control, which is part of the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)

So, if we are not naturally slow to wrath, (and who is?) how do we develop that quality?

–Check back next Friday for the fourth and final post in this series.