So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

When I slow down to really see this moment in Scripture, it plays out in my mind like a tense scene in a play: Jesus, brimming with indignation, fashions a whip. Cattle, sheep, and coins scatter. Jesus flips tables, commands the exit of money changers who appear shocked. I could not have done it. The idea of confrontation spikes my blood pressure. I would have talked myself out of action, rationalized a passive-aggressive approach, vacillated long enough to miss my chance. I would have felt guilty for letting it go, but equally guilty fashioning the whip. Isn’t anger bad? Isn’t flying off the handle sinful?

Anger is only a feeling, an emotion. But yelling at my kid for lying about curfew is not the same fury I feel when someone misconstrues God’s truth. Scolding the employee-in-training is not the same outrage you feel when witnessing a mother verbally abusing her child. Flipping the bird as we dramatically pass a slow vehicle is not the same rage we feel when someone, in the wrong place at the wrong time, is shot for simply being black. Anger is not bad, but acting out of anger can be bad. Unless it’s righteous anger you feel and righteous action you take.

Before we rationalize road rage as righteous anger, consider what sets holy anger apart from everyday anger. When someone wrongs me, it’s human anger I feel. When someone wrongs God or his people, it’s holy anger I feel. When I feel human anger, I’ve got to own it and tell it what to do before it owns and controls me. Anger is like an unbroken horse every time it shows up, and some of us will spend our earthly lives finessing our wrangling skills. Holy anger is more like a raging river, and to let it flow is to allow the Holy Spirit to work through the injustices that spark his wrath. Like Jesus in the temple, are you brave enough to let it flow?

Are you brave enough to risk your reputation, your friendships, and your comfort to make a little noise in the name of Jesus? That hard conversation you’re talking yourself out of? Schedule it. Jesus is already there; he will give you the words. That organization you want to join so others will know the name of Jesus? Volunteer today. It may not please your family and friends, but it’s your Heavenly Father’s approval that counts. That poem boldly calling out lies and sharing who Jesus really is? Publish it. You might be unfriended by a few, but even if just one critic catches a glimpse of the Truth in a world muddled with lies, it’s worth it. Losing your cool because someone takes your parking place will leave you feeling foolish. Standing up for what’s right will cost you, but love always does.

Holy Spirit, the injustice that angers you - may it anger us. And may we have the courage to act so that your truth shatters the lies, so that your love restores the broken places, so that your justice prevails where evil reigns. We confess our timidity and our fear, and we declare that you are worth any discomfort and judgment we will face when we stand up out of love for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.