Slow to Anger

The Heart of God

Have you ever gotten really angry? The kind of anger that makes you feel out of control, like you're exploding? The kind of anger that you feel deep down in your bones, even if you can't put it into words?

People feel angry for lots of different reasons. Some are legitimate. Some aren't. Too often, anger controls people instead of people controlling their anger.

When people imagine what God is like, there are at least two wrong views of him. One view sees God as a perpetual out-of-control, bitterly vindictive, raging anger machine — a distant being who hangs out somewhere in the cosmos seething at everything he sees, keeping a detailed list of grievances and accusations. People with that view of God think he has no compassion, love, or grace.

The other view sees God as a softy who never gets angry at anything because he doesn't want anyone to feel bad or guilty or ashamed. People with that view of God think he's OK with anything and everything people do and that his love is some kind of sugary feel-good meaningless warm fuzzy feeling.

Both views are wrong. Terribly wrong.

God doesn't keep a running list of grievances and continually blast us with thunderbolts. Neither does he overlook sin and injustice and say everything is just fine the way it is.

God gets angry — but he doesn't get angry just because he's feeling irritable (like so many humans do), and he doesn't get angry in the blink of an eye (like so many humans do).

God gets angry when he sees injustice, oppression, and wrongdoing — in other words, his anger is righteous. And God gets angry when people repeatedly, time after time, over and over and over again, oppose his good guidance and his loving will — in other words, his anger is patient. Or as the Bible puts it, he is "slow to anger."

God is infinitely loving. And he also gets angry. Those things can both be true. To know God fully, we need to understand the fullness of God's character.

Talk about the questions below, watch the video, and read the Bible passages to dive deeper.

Warm-Up

Do you get angry quickly and easily? Can you control your anger?
What are some injustices that make you angry? Why?
How is it possible to be both loving and angry at the same time?

Watch

"Learn How God's Anger and Love Work Together" [5:20] *This video mentions Joseph, Potiphar, Pharaoh, Paul.

Read

Romans 1:18–25

Respond

What are some things you think would make God angry? Why?
These verses don't specifically say God is patient, but it's implied. Why do you think God is so patient with people who consistently turn their back on him? How has he been patient ("slow to anger") with you?
How might someone take advantage of God's patient slow-to-anger-ness?

Engage

Read Romans 5:6-11.

How do these verses describe God's "slow to anger" nature? What does that mean for humanity?
How does this passage give you hope? How does it challenge you?
In the Old Testament, God's slow-to-anger nature shows up over and over again in the stories of his faithfulness to humans who were repeatedly unfaithful to him. When things would get really bad for the people, it wasn't because God quickly lost his temper and vindictively punished them. It's because after he'd been patient and given them chance after chance to remain faithful to him and live within his guidelines and commands, they inevitably brought about their own destruction through their own bad decisions and unfaithfulness. (You can read more about that here.) How does that square with your understanding of God?

End

As the video said, “God is not content to let people sit in their self-destruction.” This is why God sent his son Jesus to rescue humans. He cares about us too much to not want the best for us. The kindest part is that he is willing to wait as we figure it out. He is slow to anger because he loves so deeply.