Exodus 32.19 observes, as he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain.

Moses had anger issues. His anger would ultimately cost him entrance into the Promised Land. Moses was a righteous man in so many ways. Like us, he was not perfect. Moses held in his hands, the words of God, inscribed by the finger of God, on the tablet God Himself had made. In his anger, Moses threw this on the ground and smashed it.

Moses was correct to be angry. The people were disobeying God by worshiping no-gods. Moses would later be called into account for this deed of smashing the tablets by being required to fashion another tablet upon which God would inscribe His words. While Moses’ anger was righteous at the sin of Israel, it was unrighteousness in its honor of God. Our righteous anger at men can never cause us to be unrighteousness before God otherwise it is no longer righteous anger.

God must always be respected and obeyed no matter what men do. The sin of man can never cause us to sin against God. We must always honor God no matter what men do. God loves all of humanity, from the kindest of us to the meanest of us, for He sees all of us as His beloved creation. God’s patient kindness is to lead us to repentance which is why the evil person is able to do much evil before they are destroyed by men.

We have far less patience with, and far less tolerance for, people than God. While God hates the sin He truly loves the sinner. The problem is, until you and I have God’s heart toward people, the love of God for the sinner will be disguised as hate, since we who represent God appear to hate the sinner because of their sin.

We can be angry with evil but we must love people. In this way we deal correctly with people while honoring God.