19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19 NASB
When I was younger, there were stories of people pouring out their feelings on paper and mailing the letter before calming down and regretting what they had expressed in anger.
Today it is even easier to dash off a quick email response. If sent in anger the recipient has documented proof of both our anger and our foolishness.
James gives a reason for being slow to anger… He says that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. This seems to leave no room for ‘righteous indignation’.
Perhaps it is possible for us to feel the burning anger of the prophets against sin and evil. Yet I fear that so often what we call ‘righteous indignation’ is a result of feeling hurt because we think that someone has stepped on our toes or shown us disrespect.
– SSXG