That is the divine opposite of giving full vent to our anger on those who have offended us.

The reason for righteous anger was addressed (before we had to experience it in full force), and Jesus carried the burden of our sins. More than that, He did so in a way that allowed for justice to be served (when God the Son – Jesus Christ – voluntarily took the punishment for our sins), even though it cost Him dearly.

Instead of leaving us to be permanently separated from Himself, though, He reached out to us to give us a fresh start. When most people get angry (particularly in our unrighteous anger), we often do one of two things: 1) stew about it and feed our anger so that it – ironically – eats away at us and our relationships or, 2) act out in a destructive and harmful manner, whether verbally or physically.Ĭonsider the fact that sin is offensive to God’s holy nature, and He has every right to be justifiably angry with our choices. Instead of God pouring out righteous anger on us, what did He do? He “chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Take a look at that first sentence from this passage again. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. If I were to ask you what the opposite of angry is, what would you say? I’m not sure what the answer is (or if we always need to have an opposite for everything), but Paul, in a letter to the church in Thessalonica, gave us some insight:įor God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. For instance, many might consider the opposite of love to be hate, but I’ve heard Bible teachers make the case that the opposite of love is indifference. There are a lot of things in life whose “opposite” is difficult to identify. My wife (or others) may kindly remind me, “Don’t take it personally.” When this happens, my somewhat-joking response may be, “What is the opposite of that? If I don’t take something personally, how do I take it?” One of the things that gets me riled up – even though it shouldn’t – is when someone critiques something that I’ve done, especially at work.

It’s a vice (and probably a sin), but God has been patient with me as I try to be more like Jesus over time.

What is the opposite of angry