Overcoming Anger | James 1:19-20

David Powlison was the executive director of CCEF (the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation). He was an adjunct professor at Westminster Theological Seminary and the senior editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He held a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. Before he passed away in 2019 at the age of 69, David Powlison authored many essays, booklets, and books that have richly served the Church.

One of his books is Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness. Chapter 2 of Powlisons’s book is worth reading to you in its entirety. The chapter is called “Do You Have a Serious Problem with Anger?” Listen carefully. Powlison writes, and I quote, “Yes.” End quote.

That’s it. That’s the entirety of Chapter 2. The title is longer than the chapter. Powlison doesn’t even bother supporting his claim. He assumes it’s as obvious to you as it is to him. If you are a human being, you experience anger.

Not only do you experience anger, but it’s safe to assume anger has caused pain in your life. You have hurt others with angry words, bitter grudges, or explosive reactions. Others have hurt you, and years later you can still hear the bitter remarks and see the scowling face. Tragically, the people hurt most by our anger are typically those closest to us: spouse, children, parents, siblings, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Undoubtedly, anger is a source of regret and embarrassment in your life. It can feel like a permanent condition, but according to James, you can overcome anger.

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

—James 1:19–20

The Problem of Anger

In order to understand God’s prescription for your anger, it’s necessary to understand the problem of anger.

What is anger?

Anger is an intense feeling of displeasure that inclines you to take action against the object of your displeasure. Robert Jones, professor of biblical counseling at Southern Seminary, defines anger as “our whole-personed active response of negative moral judgment against perceived evil.” In other words, you feel anger when you believe someone or something is wrong.

It’s true that anger itself is not always sinful. James specifically speaks of “the anger of man,” which does not produce the righteousness of God. The anger of man refers to sinful anger that is earthly and unspiritual. 

But in Ephesians 4:26, Paul writes, “Be angry and do not sin.” 

God himself feels anger: “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11). 

As a man, Jesus expressed righteous anger in righteous ways. One Sabbath day, Jesus was in a synagogue and there was a man with a withered hand. Mark tells us, “And they [the Pharisees] watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come here.’ And he said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (Mark 3:2–5). Here Jesus is appropriately grieved and angered by sinful hardness of heart.

Jay Adams helps us here when he writes, “Every emotion with which God endowed us, including the powerful emotion of anger, is good when rightly aroused and manifested in a biblical way. Thus, the goal is not to eliminate anger—that is impossible to do anyway—but to control both the arousal and the manifestation of the emotion.”

It’s sinful to be angry for the wrong reasons. All anger that comes from wounded pride, jealousy, envy, or personal offense is sinful. It’s also sinful to express anger—even righteous anger—in the wrong way: blowing up or shutting down instead of addressing problems God’s way.

So the goal is not to never feel angry. In fact, there are times when anger is a godly response to evil. But James does say, “Be slow to anger.” The goal is to grow—by God’s grace—in Spirit-empowered self-control over when you get angry and how you express that anger.

When do you get angry?

At first, it might seem like James abruptly changes directions when he brings up anger. And James does use the phrase “my beloved brothers” to introduce a new section. However, this is not out of left field.

It makes sense that James would bring up sinful expressions of anger right after dealing with “trials of various kinds” (v. 2) and the temptation to sin in such circumstances (vv. 13–15). Sinful anger is, in fact, one of the most common responses to pressure and trials.

Think about it: when are you most prone to react in anger? Isn’t it when things aren’t going your way? When you are frustrated, anxious, afraid, overwhelmed, stressed, hurt, offended, or worn out? In other words, you are prone to anger when you face “trials of various kinds.” From the trivial and mundane—you lose your keys; you stub your toe, you forget an item on grocery list—to the overwhelming and traumatic—a job loss, a betrayal, or the death of a loved one—anger is what you feel when you feel things are not the way they ought to be.

Or to put it another way, anger is what you feel when you believe your rights have been violated, when you believe you have been wronged. You have a right to be loved, but your husband is not only unloving, but also selfish and lazy, plus he leaves his socks on the floor. So you are justified to be angry. You have a right to be respected, but your wife is disrespectful, ungrateful, unreasonable, and she spends too much at Target. So you are right to be angry. You ought to be obeyed, but your kids are whiny and disobedient. You have a right to be recognized at work, but your boss is harsh and overly critical. You have a right to [fill in the blank], but God has made your life miserable.

Whether you are displeased with yourself, your circumstances, someone else, or even God, anger is what you feel.

How do you express anger?

Here, James calls Christians to be slow to speak and slow to anger precisely because our sinful tendency is the exact opposite. Sinful anger comes out in rash words and explosive anger. We describe people as blowing up, blowing a fuse, or blowing a gasket. We describe quick-tempered people as having a short fuse.

​​Blowing up is easily recognizable: raised voices, hurtful words, clenched fists, red faces, and violent outbursts. Paul writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: … enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger …” (Galatians 5:19–20).

Following the wisdom of Proverbs, James connects anger and speech when he says, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Or Proverbs 12:18: “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Sin is like grapes: it grows in clusters or bunches. And in Colossians 3:8, Paul groups various expressions of sinful anger with specific sins of the tongue: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”

But blowing up and lashing out are not the only ways to sin in your anger. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” You let the sun go down on your anger when—instead of blowing up—you shut down, use the silent treatment, give the cold shoulder, pout, brood, and stew. Clamming up may be less physically violent than blowing up, but nursing resentment and bitterness is a sinful and relationally destructive expression of anger.

The command to be “quick to hear and slow to speak” sets this in the context of community. Listening and speaking assumes two or more people in relationship. Likewise, we can deduce that the anger James is talking about is anger that is expressed horizontally and affects other people. The trials and pressures of life tend to provoke relational sin. Whether you boil over or shut down, the anger of man damages relationships. 

This means that the evidence of godliness and righteousness cannot be reduced to the regularity of your quiet time or the expression of zeal when you’re singing. A significant measure of godliness is how you treat others when you’re under pressure. So how can you learn to overcome anger? 

God’s Word never leaves you condemned; God always gives more grace. His commands give hope. So what grace and wisdom does God offer through James for your anger?

The Remedy to Anger

Overcoming anger involves knowing and doing. James begins with a command: “Know this, my beloved brothers ….” Part of overcoming anger is knowing the truth. In Proverbs, being slow to anger is a mark of wisdom.

“Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” —Proverbs 14:29

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” —Proverbs 19:11

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” —Proverbs 29:11

Notice that Scripture does not say the wise man never gets angry. He feels anger, but he “quietly holds it back.” He is slow to anger. He is not ruled by his passions; he is self-controlled, self-regulated. He releases his anger in a controlled, God-glorifying way.

Notice also that the key is wisdom, understanding, and good sense. It’s not a personality trait some people have and some don’t. If you tend to be more explosive, you have made that a habit with practice. If you tend to shut down, you too have practiced that response over time. You need to know the right things and then apply them until you form new habits. So what do you need to know?

First, you must know that God is slow to anger. James grounds his command in the nature and character of God. When God revealed his glory to Moses in Exodus 34:6, it says, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’” 

This is God’s ultimate self-revelation in the Old Covenant, his very name. This is not theological trivia to trap in your head; this is transformational truth to treasure in your heart. Do you know God as the God who is slow to anger, who deals with you mercifully and graciously in Christ? Are you assured? Are you amazed? Are you grateful that God is slow to anger? As you treasure that truth, the grace of God will change you.

Second, know that you can and you must change. James stacks up two imperatives when he writes, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). “Know this: be slow to anger.” That’s a command from God, which God will empower and enable.

Have you ever said about your anger, “I can’t help it; this is the way I am”? God says otherwise. Doug Moo—commenting on this passage—writes, “Psychologists will sometimes claim that emotions, since they are a natural product of the personality, cannot truly be controlled—only suppressed or ignored. But James’s exhortation here (and many similar biblical exhortations) presume differently. Emotions are the product of the entire person; and, by God’s grace and the work of the Spirit, the person can be transformed so as to bring emotions in line with God’s word and will.”

It is God’s will to sanctify you, to make you more like his Son Jesus Christ, to produce righteousness in you. It is God’s will for you to be free from sinful anger.

Third, know that your anger is ineffective. James gives this command a logical foundation in verse 20 when he says, “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). To put it simply, your anger doesn’t work. In fact, sinful anger always makes things worse.

“A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.” —Proverbs 29:22

In chapter 3, James has this to say: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:14–16).

No situation is so bad that you can’t make it worse. React in sinful anger and watch what happens. But if you want more of God’s righteousness, know that your anger is not the way. Say you perceive some sin in someone else—your spouse or child.Here’s something you can be sure of: addressing their sin with sinful anger is not going to produce the righteousness of God. God uses many means to sanctify his people; your anger is not one of them.

Fourth, know that God is sovereign. Anger often arises when we feel out of control, which means the doctrine of God’s sovereignty is a powerful antidote to sinful anger. And James 1 is packed with assurances of God’s sovereignty over your trials. Memorize and meditate on the truth in James 1:2–4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Then, the next time you are in a situation where you are tempted to react in anger, remind yourself that God means to use that very situation to produce steadfastness and maturity in you.

Imagine this scenario. You get up in the morning, enjoy a nice cup of coffee as you read the Bible and pray. And as you pray, you ask God to make you more patient. Fast forward several hours. Now the kids are awake. The sink is full of dirty dishes from breakfast, the laundry has piled up, toys are all over the floor, and your toddler is protesting his nap with a tantrum. Do you see that as a threat to the peace and patience you cultivated in your morning quiet time, or do you see that as God’s answer to your prayer for more patience? Here you go: a test, an opportunity to trust the Lord, to walk in the Spirit, to put your sin to death, and to demonstrate patience to an unreasonable and overtired child. To those facing anger-inducing circumstances, Wayne Mack counsels, “Immediately ask God to help you handle it in a God-honoring, Biblical way. Remind yourself that God is sovereign. He could have prevented this circumstance from arising. He can now empower you to face it, and if you face it His way it will serve a positive, constructive purpose.”

Of course, lasting and God-glorifying change requires more than knowing things. The word conscience means “with knowledge.” When you react in anger, your conscience feels guilty because you know you’re wrong. That’s why you quickly regret your words and actions when you do explode. So knowledge isn’t enough. You need practices that become habits.

And the first thing that has to happen must be done to you and not by you. To overcome anger, you must be born again. The verse immediately before this one says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18). “Brought us forth” is the language of new birth, which is a supernatural miracle in which the Spirit of God uses the gospel—the word of truth—to raise dead sinners to life, to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, to beget a new nature. Before you can overcome anger, you must be born again. You cannot control your temper by sheer willpower. You need a new heart with new desires. You must be made new. Only if you are a Christian can you overcome anger. If you have not yet repented of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ, start there.

And if you are trusting Jesus, then the new practice James prescribes is simply this: slow down. “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). Being slow to anger has two parts.

First, it means being slow to become angry. Make it a habit to ask yourself, “Do I have a righteous reason to be angry?” Am I upset about some real evil or injustice? Have God’s laws been violated or just the laws of my little kingdom?

Second, being slow to anger means being slow to express anger, which is easier said than done. Proverbs 16:32 says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Conquering a defended city is a mighty military feat. Conquering your own spirit is even more glorious.

And the most practical way to learn to release your anger in God-honoring ways is to practice being quick to listen and slow to speak.

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” —Proverbs 10:19

“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” —Proverbs 17:27

Notice how biting your tongue goes with having a cool spirit. So count to ten. Of course, counting alone doesn’t produce heart-change. But counting to ten is an act of worship when it’s done by faith and from a desire to glorify God by being slow to anger like God. The goal of purposefully slowing down is to think clearly and respond biblically.

Even better than counting is pausing to pray. If you’re angry, it’s safe to assume you are in the middle of a trial of some kind. It would be appropriate, then, to pray the promise in James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” You know you need wisdom to address the situation God’s way, because whatever you were about to do in anger was foolish. Remember Proverbs 29:11? “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.”

Then release your anger under control. Anger is a God-given response to real problems that moves you to take action and to address problems God’s way. Again, the goal isn’t to never experience anger, but to learn to control anger. Bottling it up is not the remedy to blowing up. Being slow to anger means walking in the Spirit while taking steps to address the problem.

The Result

And what can you expect to be the result as you grow in godliness and learn to restrain your anger and express your anger in godly ways? James says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (v. 20). But what about being slow to anger?  That does glorify God. Not only does it reflect the character of God, but it is one of the means God uses to produce peace and righteousness in relationships.

Proverbs 15:18 says, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” And James says it like this in chapter 3, where he contrasts earthly, demonic wisdom with wisdom from above: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason [i.e., quick to listen], full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:17–18). You can be a God-glorifying influence in any situation by being slow to anger. When you restrain your anger, you become a peacemaker. You quiet contention. And when you make peace, you sow peace. And when you sow peace, you will reap a harvest of righteousness—that is, conduct that is pleasing to God as opposed to discord and bitterness. Don’t you desire that?

My beloved brothers and sisters, God says that you can overcome anger by his grace.