Uprooting Anger
A Book Suggestion by Marcie Cramsey
“Anger is ‘hot’; it often ‘burns,’” evaluates Robert D. Jones, author of Uprooting Anger.[1] Anger is a strong emotion, whether divine or human. Of late, humanity burns it brightly. If I were a professor, I would give our world an A+ in anger gone wrong.
The news headlines scream sinful wrath. You don’t even have to watch or read the news to witness the fury of sinful man unleashing itself on others. You see it in traffic, the grocery store, schools, workplaces, and, sadly, the church and home. We also witness its horrific aftereffects on relationships and the dignity of human beings.
David warns, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil” (Psalm. 37:8 ESV). Paul, likewise, commands, “Be angry but don’t sin” (Ephesians 4:26 CJB). We learn from both men that anger has consequences and can be felt and acted upon sinfully. Most people who want to avoid both outcomes of unrighteous anger ask, “How do I refrain from anger, and how do I stop being angry with sinful feelings and behaviors?”
One of the best books to answer these questions is Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones. (You can check out a copy in our church library). Jerry Bridges (another great author) describes Jones’s book as biblical, practical, and masterful. I agree! It’s one of the most comprehensive books on how to discern the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger that I have read. It does not end with definitions, though. It gives practical biblical ways to deal with the heart behind our sinful anger and how, from minor irritations to explosive wrath, we can submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s way of dealing with it.
Jones defines anger as “Our whole-person active response of negative moral judgment against perceived evil.” [2] Anger itself is not sinful. But why we are angry, who or what we blame or want to protect, and what we expect as a remedy is where sin is seen. Jones suggests that most human anger is unrighteous, for it “always starts in the heart, with evil desires and wrong beliefs-lusts and lies.”[3] Before you object, let me explain.
The most revealing truth in this book is the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger. Many people believe they have righteous anger until they take a hard look at the following criteria for it:
- Righteous anger focuses on God and His kingdom, rights, and concerns, not on me and my kingdom, rights, and concerns.
- Righteous anger is accompanied by other Godly qualities and expresses itself in Godly ways.[4]
In this book, you will walk through scriptural exhibits that illustrate divine anger, as seen in the Father and Jesus, compared with anecdotes of people’s unrighteous anger. You will learn how to assess your anger by asking yourself the following questions:
- Does your anger react against an actual sin, as the Bible defines sin? Or are you just inconvenienced and not getting your way?
- Does your anger focus on God and His concerns, or does it meditate on your own concerns, wants, and desires?
- Does your anger coexist with other godly qualities and express itself in godly ways?
As believers, no matter how angry, we are called to express the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Unwillingness to submit to the Spirit’s fruit indicates we have indulged ourselves in unrighteousness.
James 4:1 gives us a great place to look at why we are unwilling to submit to the Spirit’s fruit, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”
Jones will guide you to look at the passions that are warring within you. He mentions that even our good desires can become sinful if we desire them too much, making them a demand. Suddenly, the good desire no longer wants what God wants; it wants what “I” want. There is no limit to what one will do to get it in this state. From manipulation, condemnation, withdrawal, and explosion, a person who serves their wants is doomed to corrupt their good desires.
Uprooting Anger gives clear steps to overcome our sinful desires and lusts to “be angry, but not sin.” You will uncover your underlying false beliefs and selfish motives. You will learn to repent and embrace God’s forgiveness and enabling grace. As you mature in understanding righteous anger, you will also learn to take responsibility for your behaviors and identify the evil your anger exacts on God and others. What freedom you will gain when you confess your unrighteous anger and find forgiveness from God and others! God will teach you how the gospel can reorient your perception of hard situations and hurts. Using scripture, Jones will instruct you on making a workable plan that avoids unjust anger.
Uprooting Anger is a Bible study on the topic of anger. It could be used personally, but it would benefit you more to work through the material with another believer, counselor, or in your small group. Exercises at the end of each chapter will help you work out the lessons taught.
I’m attending The Master’s Seminary online and finishing my degree in Biblical Counseling. I had to read this book for one of my classes. As I worked through the material, the two chapters that really stuck with me were “Anger Against God” (Ch. 7) and “Anger Against Myself” (Ch. 8). These are two areas I often encounter with people I counsel.
The solution to anger against God is to repent of our remaining unbelief and rebellion. Jones encourages us to reject the ideas that deny God’s goodness, power, and wisdom. We must praise God’s righteousness, love, justice, and sovereignty. To be angry at God is to assume that God, at times, does and is evil and makes unjust decisions, all of which are lies of the devil. On the other hand, Jones teaches us how to lament our hurt and hardships to the Lord while maintaining a posture of praise and reverence.
Jones offers insights on the why behind one who is angry with themselves. It may indicate they don’t fully grasp God’s forgiveness in their life or minimize their sinful nature. People who cannot forgive themselves can be oppressed by regrets and failures, making themselves contentious people. They may evaluate their life through their own “righteousness” rather than God’s. Finally, they assume the role of judge that rightly belongs to God, not to them.
You will unpack each of these and so much more in the book. You will get to the root of your anger and uproot it through the gospel and God’s biblical solutions.
In closing, I will share my experience with the book. I spent time doing the exercises in the appendixes. “Pictures of God’s Forgiveness of His People” lists seven passages in scripture about God’s forgiveness of His people. In one sitting, I read each one, reflecting on my sinfulness. I was incredibly humbled by God’s immense forgiveness of me! I couldn’t help but ask Him to overwhelm me with His enabling grace to forgive others as He has forgiven me.
Besides learning to forgive others, we must be warned that unforgiveness lays a snare for us. It gives Satan a foothold in our hearts and keeps us from being and living the way God desires. Jones says it well, “Unresolved anger affords Satan a port of entry into the church’s life. It is a way in which believers, sadly, side with God’s archenemy. We further the evil one’s destructive agenda to destroy God’s people.”[5]
Do you lack peace in your life? Does anger quickly erupt in you? This is likely not due to someone else, a situation in your life, or a pattern you learned from your parents. It stems from you not dealing with the anger these outside influences have only revealed in your heart. Peace is not found in controlling or changing the other person or the problem but in aligning your heart and responses with God’s truth and His Spirit.
–Marcie
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[1] Jones, Robert D., Uprooting Anger, 19.
[2] Ibid, 15.
[3] Ibid, 22.
[4] Ibid, 29-30.
[5] Ibid, 162.
