Jerry Bridges has some helpful things to say about anger in ch.15 of Respectable Sins:
Some people justify their anger as righteous anger. They feel they have a right to be angry, given a certain situation. ... Though the Bible does give some examples of righteous anger, such as Jesus' cleansing of the temple, they are few. The main focus of the Bible's teaching on anger deals with our sinful anger, our sinful reactions to other people's actions or words. The fact that we may be reacting to another person's real sin does not necessarily make our anger righteous. (p.122)
As Christians, we can be angry at the sin we see around us - in others or in society. In fact, Christians have become known for this! We've also become demonized for our "intolerance." Though to a degree these charges are false or misleading, there is truth to the fact that we can think our anger is "righteous" when really it's just self-protecting and self-focused.
We should ask ourselves: Am I angry at the ungodly attitudes, images, and legislation in this society because I so want God glorified and his word upheld? Or am I angry at these things because I want a comfortable life for myself and my kids?
There's a reason why we are so frequently cautioned against anger in Scripture. Anger is a God-given emotion, and reaction, to evil; and anger is meant to move us toward productive solutions to that evil. Yet it's as if we are swinging a sword around without the proper training - and it's cutting down everything in its path! That's why James says:
"The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:20).
I encourage you to read this chapter by Bridges. He also addresses anger toward God, which has become increasingly "respectable."
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I think we (me included) can take the "big" societal things we are angry at and overshadow or excuse the smaller, more personal things we get (sinfully) angry at. Bridges talks at length about getting sinfully angry at others who personally wrong us. While a righteous anger is anger at someone violating God's word, we have to ask ourselves if we are truly getting angry at someone doing this, or if our anger is directed toward the person because they wronged us or if we are hurt.
It's easy to justify our anger with other people who have wronged us as "righteous" anger, but Bridges challenges us to think about why we are angry. When we really look at our motives, our emotions, and what God's word says about anger, most of our anger will be revealed as sinful.
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