Anger isn't always sinful. Scripture actually tells us, “Be ye angry, and sin not.” But that's where the harder question begins: What is our anger producing? In S2 E160 of Unpolished but Called, we're talking about righteous anger, fleshly anger, self-control, the power of our words—and what happens when something genuinely wrong collides with our very last nerve. This episode is personal for me because I've always been good with words. For a long time, that also meant I knew how to use them as a weapon. I didn't necessarily need to yell. Give me enough information and I could usually figure out exactly which sentence would cut deepest. And sometimes what I said was completely true. But I've had to learn that “I wasn't wrong” is not the same thing as “God wanted me to say it.” We look at Jesus' anger in Mark 3, where His anger was accompanied by grief over hardened hearts, and James' warning that “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Something can begin with “That was wrong” and quickly become “Now I'm going to make sure you understand exactly how wrong you were.” We'll also talk about what sanctification can look like when our words have historically been sharp. God doesn't necessarily remove our boldness, wit, directness or ability to communicate. He can sanctify how those gifts are used. Words can wound, but they can also teach, encourage, defend, comfort, confront wrongdoing, explain Scripture and point people toward Christ. For me, one of the biggest changes has been simple: The first reaction stopped getting the final word. Sometimes there's now enough space between the reaction and the response for conviction to interrupt—enough time to reread the message, pray, rewrite it with grace...or delete the whole beautifully constructed verbal homicide. 😂 Because truth matters. But we don't get to weaponize truth simply because it's accurate. And restraint doesn't mean Christians never confront wrongdoing. There are times Scripture requires us to speak plainly. The question isn't whether somebody might be hurt by hearing truth. The question is whether hurting them was our objective. Maybe spiritual maturity isn't losing our ability to speak sharply. Maybe it's learning when God wants us to use that sharpness—and when He wants us to put the sword down. Scripture References: Ephesians 4:26–27, Mark 3:1–5, James 1:19–20, Proverbs 12:18, Colossians 4:6, Proverbs 29:11, Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 16:32, Galatians 5:22–23, Proverbs 27:5–6, Proverbs 17:14, Psalm 141:3 📺 Subscribe to Unpolished but Called on YouTube: YouTube.com/@KathrinShaffer 🌐 More resources: KathrinShaffer.com 🔗 Books, podcasts, resources & more: Kathrin's Linktree https://linktr.ee/unpolishedbutcalled
