Anger: The Good, The Bad, The DestructiveSample

Working & Believing for God’s Best

Righteous indignation is intended to produce God’s best in your life and in the lives of others. Expressions of good anger require two things: hard work and right believing.

We can feel righteous indignation and have very little opportunity to remedy the situation generating our anger. I found that out a number of years ago. My mother was telling me about my father and, more specifically, about the illness that took his life. In describing his final hours on earth, my mother said, “Your father was very weak, and the realization finally came that he was dying. I asked him, ‘What will I do without you?’”

“He said, ‘You’ll just have to do the best you can.’”

The moment my mother shared those words, I felt anger well up within me. His words sounded so cold and heartless. I’d never felt any anger toward my father, but in that moment, my anger was full-blown. How could my father say such a thing? Why didn’t he have a better answer? Couldn’t he have said something a little more encouraging or comforting?

But as I’ve reflected on my father’s words and discussed them with my family, I’ve come to understand more fully the situation my parents were in. Though my father’s kidney disease wouldn’t have been fatal with today’s medicine, there was no effective treatment for it then. And given my parents’ economic situation at the time, there was very little money to set aside, invest, or spend on life insurance.

Though the years following my father’s passing were difficult for my mother and I, we always tried to do our best with what we had. And after much thought and prayer, I made peace with my father’s statement, realizing that part of “doing one’s best” is believing in God to the best of one’s ability. When we truly trust the Lord with a sincere faith, we’re in the best position to receive His best protection and provision (Prov. 3:5-6).

When you find yourself filled with anger, one of the wisest things you can do is believe the other person is acting with the best motives, intentions, and character. You have nothing to lose by believing the best.

In addition, choosing to believe the best will motivate you to come up with the best solution or response possible—even when you’re reeling inside from a strong blow of rejection or emotional pain.

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