We are all graceful and gentle beings, until we’re not. We don’t really want to, we don’t really like it and we don’t plan to, but sometimes we lose our cool. May it be because we have had to repeat ourselves one too many times, maybe we were ignored, our rights were violated or someone simply just broke the rules, we all get angry sometimes.
Many of us even know some people whom we really think just likes to be angry, which is never really the case, as constant anger is really rooted in hurt or anger, but we are talking about normal anger, the “you stepped over the line” anger. We all know what anger feels like and we have all been on the receiving end of someone’s anger or even rage.
Some people need just a little shove to lose their cool and some can take quite a punch, but whichever way it is, however natural it may be, it still is toxic. You can spin it any way you want or justify it as much as you like, there never is any good use for it. It always makes everything worse.
Have you noticed that when you do get angry, that the more you realise how valid your anger is, the angrier you get? When you weigh the damages or the degree of the offence, have you noticed that you seem to evaluate just how angry you think you are allowed to be?
Many times, we don’t even get angry for a transgression against ourselves, sometimes we get angry for the things people do to other people, where, in our country for example, we are all very aware of the anger we have when we read about another child that has been raped and killed; that’s a pretty good reason to be angry, right?
Friends, we will never run out of good reasons to be angry, not in this world. Whatever it is, whether it is anger for the right reasons or anger for the petty things in life, when we entertain anger, when we let it lead us and give it way to fill our heads, it always leads to more sin.
Does anger not invite hate? Does anger not inflict hurt upon others, does anger speak with love, does it forgive, does it heal, and does it ever fix anything? Let me share a few verses with you. Proverbs 16:32 Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Proverbs 19:11 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
Then, let us remember this one: James 1:19 – 20 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
It is not always easy, and it is also not something you simply decide not to do anymore, it is something you practice, again and again and again. You are giving your peace away and you are making yourself vulnerable to the enemy when you allow anger into your heart.
There is however a difference between being angry and being stern, there is children to be raised in this world, I get it, asking nicely is not always going to cut it, but let us search our hearts, let’s look at our actions and the way we speak and respond to situations. Also check the things that make you angry, is it really that bad?
Do you really have to make a thing about it? Let us not be so easily offended, we won’t die if we let a few people get away with a few things once in a while or even more often, in fact, it is going to do a whole lot less damage if we do let it go. God is not impressed when we get angry about sin, in fact, He will judge you for it. Your job is to love and to love a lot, even your enemies.
God bless you, be safe and remember to take it easy.
Miryna van As