Zephaniah 1:1-7. Another prophecy of doom for Judah! God says he will "utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," he will "cut off mankind" and the remnant of Ba'al, and the idolatrous priests, and those who have turned back from following the Lord, "who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him." He ends with "Be silent before the Lord God!" because the day of the Lord is at hand!

These prophecies, which do come to pass in their own way, often start out with a bold, seeping prouncement - God starts out here saying he will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, which obviously is horrible, and which is not literally what came to happen in the punishment of Judah. But immediately after saying that, God goes on to say that the pucishment is really about those who do not turn to him, who remain idolatrous and don't seek him. Lastly, he tells Judah to "Be silent!"  - he's done listening to them, the day of his punishment has come.

This reminds me a lot of how I am when I'm angry. I try to keep calm and have a reasonable discussion, but at some point, when I have been pushed too far, and the person just will not listen to what I am actually trying to say, I blow up! Then, I start off strong - I often make a broad, sweeping pronouncement, but immediately bring it back to what is actually bothering me. The big thing at the beginning is necessary to get the person's attention - they are just not listening! Once my anger and broad statement have gotten their attention, I can get back to what I'm trying to say, but then, if they try to interrupt me, I tell them, basically, to "be silent!" (or "shut up!" more likely:/)!

Let's look at one of my typical outbursts when my kids were little. I would tell them, calmly and nicely, that they needed to put away the toys that were all over the floor. I would come back a few hours later, and say it again (and repeat however many times until I lose patience). Eventually, my patience gone, I would come into the room with the kids playing video games and the toys all over the floor and I would lose it: Me: "That's it, I am throwing every single one of these toys in the trash!!" They pause the game and look at me. Me: "Any toy still left on this floor an hour from now is going in the trash, since you obviously do not care about it." Them: "Let us just finish..." Me: "Quiet! I am past talking to you!" When I think about this, I can see how we were made in his image and likeness, we often act so much like him!

Readings like this show us that righteous anger is okay - it is not sinful. We are pushed to it sometimes, and it is necessary to show people that we mean business (look at Jesus when he cleanses the Temple!). So it's okay to be angry, but it is not okay to let it lead us to sin. My anger, unfortunately, is not always righteous like God's is, and that is where it becomes a problem. But, It's not wrong to get righteously angry.

When things are really bad, and much evil is being done, it is right to be angry! As Saint Thomas Aquinas said "He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust."