“Woke” Anger

On the morning of January 11, 2017, a grieving mother stood in a crowded courtroom and said these words to her son’s murderer, “I forgive you.” The godly woman was Felicia Sanders. The murderer was Dylann Roof. On June 17, 2015, Roof went into Emanuel AME church in Charleston, SC, and murdered nine parishioners in cold blood. He later confessed to the crime, pleaded guilty to all charges, and rightly received the death penalty – which, by the way, 6 years later has not been carried out.

When Mrs. Sanders and many other family members told Roof they forgave him, news media were enamored with their actions. President Obama publicly praised them. And, rightly so. Can you imagine standing in front of a man who killed your loved one and seeking his good rather than his harm?

Forgiveness is a hard act. By nature, every one of us prefers to hang on to hurts. Like a sick puppy, found on the street, we nurse bitterness. We encourage it to take root in our hearts. We spend hours thinking about a single statement someone made in passing, perhaps not even understanding the real motive behind it. And, in some way, that feels good to us.

The godless in heart cherish anger.

Elihu

When Elihu addressed Job, he said, “The godless in heart cherish anger” (Job 36:13). That’s a powerful statement. The godless do not dislike anger. The godless love anger. They “cherish” it. Anger gives the godless purpose and energy. The never ending search is for something or someone to hate.

This is prevalent in the mantra of the so-called “woke” movement of our time. The implementation of Marxist cultural theory (and that’s what the woke movement is) thrives on anger. Every day, the search is on for the next person to cancel or the next statue to pull down. It is a movement driven by anger and hatred.

Anger is not sinful as such. Christians are instructed to “be angry, and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4, Ephesians 4:26). Certain things should make you angry. You should be angry at idolatry. You should be angry at injustice. You should be angry at racism. You should be angry when God is robbed of his glory. 

But righteous anger does not delight in sinful acts. Righteous anger does not delight in rioting and looting. Righteous anger does not delight when someone’s name is slandered. Righteous anger delights in justice, not revenge. As a wise counselor once said, “Anger is energy that we can use to destroy ourselves, others, or the problem. When used righteously, we destroy the problem.”

Christian, Christ calls upon you to exhibit righteous anger and forgiveness in your life. You find the strength to forgive only by looking to Christ himself (Colossians 3:12-13). He died for you when you were still his enemy (Romans 5:8-10).