I am not much of a fan of professional sports, but a news story relating to tennis caught my attention. Novak Djkovic was going for his 18th Grand Slam. Reports are that he became frustrated and hit the tennis ball to the back wall, which was not unusual. However, this time the tennis ball hit a line judge and bruised her throat. He immediately went to the line judge to apologize and wait with her for the medical staff to examine her. He was eliminated from the U.S. Open for 2020 and will face serious fines. From my vantage point, it did not appear to have been done with wrath but was an accident. To the officials’ credit, the penalty was enforced regardless of his status or stakes. One of the commentators, who was John McEnroe, said, “The pressure just got to him. I think a lot’s been going on off the court; it’s obviously affected him. And now, whether he likes it or not, he’s going to be the bad guy the rest of his career. It’ll be interesting how he handles it.” Strong words from a notoriously misbehaving former player who over his career was fined over $69,000. Perhaps McEnroe wishes for Djkovic to take his place in the “bad guy” category, but that is a decision that will be left to Djkovic as he reflects on his conduct and attitude. Whether one thinks Djkovic had an outburst of wrath or not, certainly his personal and professional reputations have taken blows.
The ever-relevant Proverbs certainly warn about losing one’s temper. “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29 NKJV). See also Proverbs 12:16; 15:1, 18; 27:3. Paul instructed Titus on the qualifications for an elder including “not quick tempered” (Titus 1:7), and to Timothy he wrote, “not quarrelsome” (1 Timothy 3:3). Elders must be men of integrity, and a man who cannot control his temper will do serious damage to his and the church’s reputation. Paul warned the Christians at Corinth, “For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults” (2 Corinthians 12:20).
The same word in the Bible translated “jealous” is also translated “zealous.” The context determines whether this word is positive or negative. Likewise, the context of our actions may determine if an act is positive or negative regardless of the motivations for our actions. Righteous anger and unrighteous anger are not the same thing, but sometimes the temporal consequences are. Preachers need to be careful about displaying anger and outbursts of wrath. One may be right, but one may still face the same temporal consequences regardless. Guard against outbursts of wrath!
