There is a great deal of anger in the world. At the present, several wars are raging on at least three continents. During these troubling times, it is disturbing to see that many people direct their rage and angst towards God. Do they have a right to be angry? Is man entitled to harbor resentment against his Maker? Let us examine the evidence from nature, everyday life, & history.
It is an audacious thing that people could be angry with God, for first of all, He made us. Even in human affairs, the creator has a right to do whatever he likes with his creation. A computer engineer or a car manufacturer can use their computer or car as they please. They may sell their creations, keep them, give them to friends, or even destroy them if they so desire. The Bible recognizes the sovereignty of God our Creator by portraying Him as a potter & human beings as the clay (e.g. Jer. 18:1-10.) Rom. 9:20-21 puts it this way: “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” By virtue of creating us, God has the right to do with us as He pleases. This certainly offends man’s pride & sense of freedom, but let us see how God chooses to exercise His control over mankind.
The Lord created man sinless & good. He placed him in the ideal setting of the Garden of Eden. He gave him dominion over the natural creation & meaningful work to perform. God also gave the first Man a helper who was suited to him for blissful companionship. In short, He placed Adam & Eve in paradise with every opportunity to succeed & enjoy their Creator & His Creation. The Almighty Himself communed with them daily, doubtless, instructing them in the best course of action in performing their pleasant tasks in the Garden. Regrettably, the world today is a far cry from what it was then. In the Garden there was no pain, death, disease, or natural disasters. Today there are wars, crime, suffering, & various kinds of catastrophes. They lived in a simple, idyllic world. Modern man lives on a planet plagued by cancer, heart disease, diabetes, AIDS, & many other maladies. What brought about this drastic change? It surely was not the Lord; He created the world & said it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Rom. 5:12 provides the answer: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Italics mine) Man has made the world what it is today. We are responsible for “Paradise Lost”, because we brought sin into the world. Thus, we must look to ourselves for the origin of the world’s problems; our rebellion against our perfectly benevolent Creator caused it all. Therefore, one cannot blame God for the evil and pain in the world.
God’s goodness is shown by the fact that He continues to maintain His Creation even after centuries of human rebellion. He would have been well within His rights to destroy the world after Adam’s sin. Furthermore, after centuries of repeated sin, bloodshed, & tyranny He would be justified in wiping out this planet today. Instead, Heb.1:3 says that
Christ is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” Even in everyday life, one sees the Divine hand providing all of the necessities of life. Daniel’s words to the wicked Babylonian King Belshazzar could be said to many contemporary people: “the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.” (RSV) He gives us air to breath, food to eat, & the energy & creativity to work & provide for ourselves. The Lord Jesus referred to His Father’s gracious providence in these words: “For He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Mt. 5:45)
In addition to providing man with the necessities of life, the Lord also keeps mankind from wiping itself out. Fearsome advances in nuclear weapons, biological & chemical armaments, & “smart bomb” technology have made worldwide slaughter a very real possibility. Heretofore, God has not allowed humans to annihilate one another. The world has come to the edge of the precipice, but never proceeded over it (e.g. the Cuban Missile Crisis.) This restraint is directly attributable to God’s sovereign power, orchestrating all things after the counsel of His own will. Revelation 5-6 shows that the Lord Jesus alone is able to loose the seals on the deed to the world, which initiates the final countdown to this planet’s destruction.
After examining the evidence, it is clear that humans have no just cause to be angry with God. In fairness, one must look at things from the Divine perspective. Ps. 7:11 says “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” Weymouth’s Translation of Rom. 1:18 agrees in these words: “For God’s anger is being revealed from Heaven against all impiety and against the iniquity of men who through iniquity suppress the truth. God is angry.” The Lord is displeased with man & his sin for what has happened to the Creation. Furthermore, He is offended by their rebellion against Himself. Yet even in His wrath, we behold mercy. Instead of pouring out His righteous indignation on His creatures, God showed Himself to be holy and loving by sending His Son to suffer sin’s penalty. As Rom. 5:8 so wonderfully expresses it: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (NKJV)
When He had every right to be angry with man, God showed His love towards them instead. One day He will pour out His wrath on the world. 2 Pet. 3:7-10 sets it forth clearly: “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (NKJV) He does not want people to suffer condemnation & eternal perdition. Thus, He offers them deliverance through the death & shed blood of His Son. May multitudes more forsake their anger & sin by repentance & faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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