Solomon's main theme in today's study is the foolishness of lashing out in anger. There will be things in this world that make us angry, but there are ways to handle our anger and to make changes in our society without harming those around us.
"By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down." (Proverbs 29:4) Solomon loathes the idea of bribes. He's spoken on this subject before. When a ruler can be bribed to make incorrect rulings, the poor suffer. Cases get decided on the basis of who has the most money, not on who is in the right.
"Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet." (Proverbs 29:5) There's nothing wrong with bestowing a genuine compliment or giving credit where credit is due. But we ought to beware anyone who always seems to be gushing with praise for us. (After all, we can't be that great all the time!) The one who constantly tries to flatter us may be intending to deceive us. And if their goal is not to deceive us, it could be they are looking for someone with whom to develop an unhealthy type of co-dependent friendship. Either way, we need to be on guard whenever anyone flatters us extravagantly. They are using flattery in order to meet hidden needs of their own.
"Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad." (Proverbs 29:6) What a beautiful verse for believers! Solomon contrasts the slavery of sin with the freedom of being forgiven and redeemed. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1a) We are to rejoice in the freedom we have in Christ. We are to possess it wholly. We don't need to go around with our chins hanging in the dust, shuffling our feet and sighing and saying, "Woe is me!" We are a free people. What a shame and disgrace it is if we don't enjoy the freedom our Savior bought for us!
Again we see Solomon stating his concern for the poor, "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." (Proverbs 29:7) It would have been easy for a wealthy and powerful man of privilege like Solomon to shrug his shoulders at injustice and turn a blind eye to the plight of the poor. But he cared deeply for the needy. He judged court cases according to the evidence, scorning bribes and refusing to treat one person differently than another because of their wealth or social standing.
"Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger." (Proverbs 29:8) Solomon reminds us that we aren't behaving wisely when we give way to rage. Lately in our country there's a different protest going on somewhere almost every day, and if people want to assemble peacefully, they have that right. I'm not saying that many of their concerns aren't legitimate or that they shouldn't speak out against things they feel are wrong. Thankfully, we live in a free country where our people are free to make their opinions known. Our constitution gives us "the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances". But these assemblies aren't always peaceful, and Solomon would say something like, "Don't stir up strife in the city by committing lawless acts. Don't give vent to your anger by assaulting those who disagree with you or by destroying property or by blocking traffic and interfering with the peace and safety of those around you. The wise person is able to control his emotions. There are better ways to get your point across and get the laws changed than by resorting to violence."
In Solomon's opinion it's a foolish person who gives full reign to his anger. "If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace. The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright. Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end." (Proverbs 29:9-11) Nothing will make us look foolish any faster than screaming and cursing, stomping around and throwing things and turning all red in the face and losing our cool.
There are going to be circumstances that make us feel angry. This is inevitable in a fallen world, and feelings of anger are not necessarily sinful in themselves. It's what we do with our anger that can be sinful. There are going to be injustices that could easily throw us into a rage, but the Apostle Paul, a man who suffered a great deal of injustice, cautions us, "In your anger do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26) It's possible to be righteously angry at something that's wrong without giving in to rage and falling into sin. There are other, and better, ways of handling problems. There are occasions in the Scriptures where we find Jesus experiencing righteous anger and indignation at things that were wrong, but He never physically attacked a person He disagreed with. He never incited a riot or looted property or shouted obscenities in the streets. As the prophet Isaiah said when he foresaw the advent of Christ, "He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets." (Isaiah 42:2)
We always find Jesus in complete control of His words and actions, even in the face of injustice. If we are going to attract an unbelieving world to Him, we must learn to handle our anger. We can't lash out angrily at our neighbor today and hope to have him let us share the gospel with him tomorrow. There are wise ways to handle our anger and they do not involve harming those around us or preventing them from living in peace. As the old saying goes, "Two wrongs don't make a right," and it doesn't solve anything when we fall into sin while trying to fight injustice.
We all get angry. Solomon never said we couldn't get angry. The Apostle Paul never said we couldn't get angry. These men of the Bible are telling us we can be angry without sinning at the same time.
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