Everyone is so Angry…Time to take a Breath!
As we get closer to the election, the rhetoric between the parties is becoming nastier. There is more name calling, threats of violence than ever before. It seems that nowadays everyone is filled with anger, not only do they brim with anger, they stay angry. Social media is full of posts and tweets where people are calling each other names, folks are demanding that someone be fired for what they said, folks are using more and more profanity in their everyday language. We seem to be on the verge of exploding, you can see violence erupting in almost every major city. People don’t want to talk to each other, they want to yell at each other, it’s not about letting others have their opinion, if someone doesn’t agree with us we get mad at them. Relationships are breaking up, people just don’t seem to have the patience we once had. What is the deal, why is everyone so angry?
In this article I want to look at angry people and anger in general from a Christian perspective. I recognize that not everyone who might read this isn’t a Christian and in fact some of what you read here might confuse you. Simply because some people today who are claiming to be Christians are some of the angriest people around. This article is from the perspective of Christianity that’s not interested in political power or gaining large amounts of wealth. I want to ask and hopefully answer questions about anger that relate to true Christianity. What are some of the effects of anger? When we get angry, what should we avoid? Everyone gets angry at times, what can we do about it?
What are some of the effects of anger?
Anger is an emotion that most definitely takes a toll on us, physically, spiritually, and psychologically. Think about what happens when you get really angry at somebody, quite often you shut down, you don’t want to have anything to do with that person. While there are many who doubt that stories they find in the Old Testament are true, they still contain strong nuggets of truth and behavior. One such story is found in how anger isolates us from others, as we read in Genesis 27:41-43, “So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban!” I’ve seen cases where families were broken apart by anger, where one family member was so angry with another one that the family was split apart, sometimes permanently, but always at least for a while. People become isolated, alone, and often spend time stewing in their anger and that leads to another issue for us.
It creates some evil thoughts and motives in us and in its strongest form can lead to murder Genesis 4:1-12, Cain and Abel, “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master t.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain’s anger and his striking out in anger had consequences that were disastrous. The same reality holds true today, the consequences of striking out in anger are never positive. We see it in videos on social media, people lashing out violently. We hear about the murders, where someone was angry, they were mad about something and innocent people paid the ultimate price
That is because people have no idea how to deal with emotions or how to diffuse tense situations. Anger, especially uncontrollable angers almost always leads to conflict and arguments Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”
When we get angry, what should we avoid?
Avoid discipline when your angry Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Watch your mouth James 3:5 – “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!”
Don’t act on impulse 1 Samuel 19:9-10, “Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10 Saul tried to]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he]stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.” We see this in our modern politicians. They get angry, they lash out. They pass laws that often have consequences that are worse than the original problem.
Everyone gets angry at times, what can we do about it?
Yes, at times, most of us will become angry, it is important that we do our best to avoid those situations where we are on the verge of anger,James 1:19-20, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Each of us knows what will trigger us to anger, it might be a political statement that an acquaintance makes, it might be a tweet or Facebook post that we see. It’s important that we step back and as my mama used to say, take a deep breath and count to ten. By the time you reach ten or 50 or 100, whatever you were reacting to will most likely be off your timeline and you can relax. However there are times, when regardless of how high we count or how much we try we are still going to get angry.
So what can we do when we feel ourselves getting angry?
Don’t feed it, that will only encourage it to stay Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” My goodness, we can all hold grudges, I know I can, I try not to harbor ill feelings, but I’m human so often I do. I have friends who when they get angry won’t call or talk to me for a month or so, because they’re angry; heck I have some friends (well, really acquaintances) who haven’t spoken to me since the 2016 election. They have no idea how I voted, they just know I didn’t tell them I was voting the same way they did. Social media is a great feeder of anger, people can hide behind their keyboards and lash out at people, call them names, and generally act as instigators, for what, for some type of satisfaction, I guess.
Talk it out with those you’re angry at Matthew 5:21-26, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before ]the supreme court (the Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”
That’s going to do it for today, before I go, I want to close this out with a prayer, Dear heavenly father, we live in a world that is slowly being pulled apart by forces of anger and hatred. I ask that you come into my life and help me understand those who are so angry, and help me to maintain a sense of calm and to not let my anger control me. Thank you for being there for me and helping me during these times. Amen
If you’re struggling with issues in today’s crazy world, check out my eBook, “Hey God! I sure could use some help down here!” Available pert near wherever books are sold.
God Bless and Peace y’all