The old phrase “that just gets my goat” comes from a surprising place: the racetrack. Trainers used to put a goat in the stall of a high-strung horse to calm it before a race. If someone wanted to sabotage the competition, all they had to do was remove the goat, and the agitated horse would fall apart. Over time, the phrase became an idiom for anything or anyone that annoys, frustrates, or angers us.

Anger is one of those emotions that can run in two opposite directions. Left to itself, it usually flows downward, pulled by the gravity of our fallen nature. When rooted in pride, anger becomes destructive. It damages relationships, splits churches, and even harms our own bodies. No wonder Scripture commands us to “put away all anger, wrath, and malice” (Colossians 3:8).

And yet the Bible also tells us, “Be angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). So, anger can also rise upward- toward good, holy, and noble purposes. Righteous indignation is stirred when justice is violated, or God’s goodness is mocked. It is a zeal to defend what is right. The clearest example is Jesus driving the moneychangers from the temple (Matthew 21). His anger was not petty irritation; it was love for His Father’s glory.

What “gets your goat” reveals more about you than you may realize. When small inconveniences send us into a tailspin, it exposes pride- our belief that we deserve better, that others should serve our preferences. Meanwhile, we often tolerate (or ignore) things that deeply dishonor God. Think of the prodigal’s older brother or Jonah sulking under a vine (Luke 15; Jonah 4). Their anger was loud, but it wasn’t holy.

Most of us assume our anger is justified. It feels right. It feels earned. But Scripture calls us to examine it. Here are three ways to tell the difference between sinful anger and righteous indignation:

1. Righteous indignation targets sin, not people.

It confronts wrongdoing without condemning the wrongdoer. I can acknowledge the harm done to me or my loved ones without harboring bitterness toward the person responsible. Jesus commands us to love our enemies and pray for them. We may hate what someone did, but we must not hate them.

2. Righteous indignation is slow and patient.

James calls us to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath” (James 1:19). Over and over, Scripture describes God as “slow to anger.” Jesus modeled enormous patience with sinners. Even when He expressed anger, it was often mingled with grief. He was saddened by evil, not consumed by rage. He walked the road to Calvary long before He tread the winepress of wrath and so should we.

3. Righteous indignation flows out of love.

The anger you would feel if someone harmed your spouse or child is not fueled by ego it springs from love. Scripture says God is angry with wickedness every day (Psalm 7:11), not because He is irritable, but because sin corrupts His justice, distorts His goodness, and robs Him of glory. His response to evil is never a kneejerk reaction but an expression of His love.

God alone has the right to punish evil. Yet, in love, He placed His righteous wrath on Jesus at the cross. And for those who reject that grace, judgment will still come. But for those of us who have received His mercy, our calling is clear: extend that same grace even toward those who wound us.

So, the question remains: What gets your goat? And more importantly… what does your anger reveal about your heart?