ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 24, 2022
What do you do with anger? Lots of people have an opinion on the subject, and they are quick to offer their insights. There are occasional suggestions that are helpful, but I find most people’s thoughts to be pithy and dismissive. Often, it is just a tactic to appear sympathetic when the person making the unhelpful suggestion simply does not want to hear your complaints any longer. Full confession: I’ve probably done that a few times. Psalm 37 tells us to avoid anger and not fret. Though good advice, it’s not terribly practical in offering a “how-to” to actually accomplish such things. So what do we do with anger? I think back to a study I did on the Fruit of the Spirit years ago. I invited people to recite the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) twice each day, and then to keep track of when they were successful and when they failed in regard to each of the nine items listed among the Fruit of the Spirit. Each week, people came together in small groups to reflect on those successes and failures. I won’t pretend there were dramatic breakthroughs, but people began to see areas where patience or gentleness or self-control seem to come up short. Individuals asked an important questions about what might have been behind these less than stellar moments. There were occasions in that six week period where I became aware of a few triggers that caused reactionary responses that were more anger-like. Awareness was a really helpful tool, and though more failures were to come, I began to see some successes as well. What do you do with anger? It’s complicated. There are times when some righteous indignation is justified, but anger itself is rarely helpful or productive. So, going back to my original question: what do you do with anger? I believe most of what the Bible suggests requires hard work in advance so that we are not reacting with irrational fury but with faithfulness, by which a healthy and productive outcome is possible.
Holy God, continue to encourage me so I can do what is necessary for anger not to consume me. I will always need your help if I am going to respond to difficult and challenging situations in ways that can bring about beneficial change for all. Amen.
