Daniel's Den

Anger: Natural, and Controllable

     Life doesn’t always go in the way one predicts. We expect something to happen in a certain way, and it doesn’t. We expect people to behave in certain ways, and they don’t.

     We get frustrated. There is a tension that starts somewhere in our stomach, and it spreads to our head and face. Our hearts respond to the stimulus, and they beat faster, and our blood pressure goes up. Our brains put our bodies in the "defense mode," and we’re ready to physically fight. We are wired to do something physical and to defend our territory.

     God’s Holy Spirit calls us into His control. One of the effects of God’s Spirit is self-control (Gal. 5:23). Although, to the human mind, anger will solve an immediate problem, God calls us to get it under control. He teaches plainly, "for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (Jas. 1:20) … although it seems that one’s anger ought to! (one of the causes of the Crusades in the Middle Ages)

     Max Lucado, in an excerpt from his book, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, reflected on anger.

Anger. It’s a peculiar and yet predictable emotion. It begins as a drop of water. An irritant. A frustration. Nothing big, just an aggravation. Someone gets your parking place. Someone pulls in front of you on the freeway. A waitress is slow, and you’re in a hurry. The toast burns. Drops of water. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Yet, you get enough of these seemingly innocent drops of anger and before long you’ve got a bucket full of rage. Walking revenge. Blind bitterness. …

Now, is that any way to live? What good has hatred ever brought? What hope has anger ever created? What problems have ever been solved by revenge?

     Max brings up some good questions about anger. Judge it by its fruits. Jesus was the first to teach us about the "fruit test." (Mtt. 7:20). James taught us to make this "fruit test" about anger. Anger will not work God’s righteousness. The expression of my anger, therefore, is not the work God has assigned for me.