Thought for the Week

It is pretty rare for a person to never get angry. So, is anger a good thing? There is no easy answer for that but there are answers. Anger can be a reflex and when it is there is danger of saying or doing something we will regret because we acted too quickly. Anger can be a response and can be an asset or a liability. No matter, it is a good idea to slow down the reflex or response. We might encourage ourselves and others to ‘count to ten’. Perhaps if you are a fast counter, it would be better to choose a higher number. Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “Do not sin in your anger, Do not let the sun go down upon your anger.” Good advice. How do we put that into practice? It does sound like anger is not sin but can be. An example of good anger could be when Jesus drove out the merchants from the Temple. He had a good reason. They were doing wrong. So if anger is in response to wrong-doing, and it brings a good response, it is acceptable. It may urge us to correct the wrong. But it is a good idea to respond slowly and carefully. Yet we should not prolong our response to the point of letting it fester or become bitterness. If the anger is simply a reaction to something done against us, we might want to think through why it was done. It could be simply a misunderstanding. In that case, “talking it out’ and seeking a solution is a better response than simply becoming angry and retaliating. As a general rule of thumb, ‘If the wrong is done to us personally, we should act with patience. If the wrong is done to another, we should be careful in how we respond and intercede with caution.’ It is good to ask, “Why am I angry?” Once that answer is obtained, we may have a better handle on “How should I respond?” In my earlier example, Jesus knew the Temple was to be a place of worship and prayer. The merchants were inhibiting that. The answer was to expel them. Jesus did. The leaders of the Jews were often angry with Jesus because they were jealous of His popularity and/or because He showed them up for their hypocrisy. Had they honestly considered the situation, they should have been repentant rather than angry. Cain was angry because God did not respect his sacrifice. He took his anger out on his brother Abel because God did accept and respect Abel’s sacrifice. Had Cain asked, “Why am I angry?” and “How should I respond?” then been honest with his answers, he might have corrected the problem and there would have been a much better outcome. Hopefully we will be able to use anger as an asset to living a better life. For myself, I find that if I get angry with myself for being or doing wrong and use that energy to correct myself, the outcome is much better. There are most certainly wrongs in our world. Simply being angry about them, does not avail much. What I need to do is find a way to work at correcting the wrong. I am not advocating “witch-hunting” but sometimes things cross into life’s pathway and we know they are wrong. That is the time and place to work on correction. There is frustration in simply being angry, but there is satisfaction in correcting wrongs. It requires patience in accepting criticism. Accepting valid criticism and making corrections can make a person better. Our human nature can make this dangerous ground. But it can be positively beneficial.

Scriptures to Read

Proverbs 16:33

Proverbs 29:22

St. Matthew 5:22

Ephesians 4:26

Jeremiah 3:12

Psalm 103:5

Genesis 4:5-8