A Study In Anger

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated… Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men… fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.” – Daniel 3:19-23

In this passage, king Nebuchadnezzar is “filled with fury,” which ironically in Aramaic means “full of heat.” This is no steady or even momentary opposition to unrighteousness, but a sudden outburst sparked by offended pride. We learn four things here about angry outbursts. 

First, they distort our perception. Nebuchadnezzar had reason to trust these three men; just one chapter ago, he had appointed them over affairs in the province. But here “the expression of his face was changed” against them. Angry outbursts always distort our perception of others and the situation in ways we may not realize until later.

Secondly, angry outbursts are irrational. There was no logical reason for ordering that the furnace be heated seven times hotter—if anything, the victims would have died more quickly and been tortured less. The ways we vent our anger during outbursts usually don’t solve the problem or even make much sense. 

Thirdly, angry outbursts are always urgent. The entire thing was rash to start with (“if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace,” verse 15), but his outburst causes him to act with even greater urgency. There was nothing about the situation that was a true emergency, but that’s how these outbursts work: they flare up in the moment. They make waiting seem impossible.

Lastly, angry outbursts cause collateral damage. Nebuchadnezzar ends up killing the innocent men who carried out his orders. Angry outbursts always hurt more than just the people we target; they affect bystanders in ways we may not intend or be aware of.

Anger itself is not a sin, but Nebuchadnezzar’s story is a warning that angry outbursts almost always lead to sinful behavior, because they distort our perception of reality, lead us into irrational behavior rather than true problem-solving, and cause us to act too urgently in a way that ends up hurting everyone present. May we learn from his example and be wary of these outbursts in our lives.