I used a couple of Bible verses which presented the Bible's view on anger. We then discussed how we might see those passages fitting into or comparing with the world view. What I came away with is that the line is pretty blurred between a worldly view of anger and a biblical view. The Bible is pretty clear but there is much more freedom of anger in a worldly view.
Basically it might be said that most people think that if you have a "good" reason to be angry then it is okay. I might interpret that to say that if you feel justified in your anger, you then see it as being the right way to behave. This is a deep subject and one that can be discussed for a very long time.
Part of the discussion may come from what we determine as being anger. Some may say anger is an emotion caused by a wrong done that opposes something of value or virtue. The problem with separating it that way is who decides what is of value or what is virtuous? Defining anger, virtue, or value is subjective. There is no standard that we can all use to guide us in categorizing what is of virtue and what is not.
Is anger the answer? Even if we all agreed on what is virtuous and what is not, or if we agreed on what may justify getting angry over and what is not, is anger the answer?
I made a statement that, for me, says a lot. I said, "Anger is self control out of control."
I really believe that. I believe we can react to many negative things without anger. I believe that many horrible things that happen can affect change but that change does not have to have anger as a part of it. So many times we get angry over something bad but that is as far as it goes. We may become outraged by an event but does that anger change anything? Is it possible that we can experience something that completely violates what with think is of virtue, not get angry but get passionate about making changes so such a thing does not re-occur? Would not the thing we are defensive or protective of, be better served if our emotion was not anger but a passion and deep desire to somehow change things for the better?
It seems that anger is seen as a natural, uncontrollable response to something or some situation we do not like. The problem with any of that is that "we" are the person determining what is and is not correct. There is no consistence, standard, or list we can all look to and agree on. Might we say that our views can be considered to be opinions?
If we are honest can we say that we get angry about things that oppose our opinions rather than a universal high moral code we all share? Might we also contemplate that we may be led astray by using our head before we use our heart?
I know what many of you are thinking. Any discussion on anger and the Bible takes us right to Jesus getting angry in the temple about them doing business, probably cheating people, in the temple. You will find the scene in Matthew 21:12-13. I looked at five popular translations or Bible versions of those verses and not one of them writes that Jesus was angry! Regarding what Jesus said as He was turning over the tables, some end His words with a period rather than an exclamation point. How do we know He was angry? From what I found, we are not told Jesus was angry.
This speaks to my point. We can be troubled, passionate, offended and such without being angry. We can be driven to take action (as Jesus was) by our passion or our desire to protect something without anger being a necessary part of it all.
Okay, some of you may be getting angry right now. Is it because we don't agree?
So let me back up and say that okay there can be "righteous indignation" and that is okay. Let's define righteous. The definition of righteous is morally good or following religious or moral laws. Let's define indignation. The definition of indignation is anger that is caused by something that is unfair or wrong. If I am getting that right, we have anger that is morally correct or in line with religious laws.
So if someone does something to you that you determine is wrong and you get angry and they don't agree and they determine you are wrong and they get angry with you because it is wrong for you to be angry at them for no reason, then you get angrier and they get angrier, well you see what I am saying.
The problem is that we each get to decide what is justified anger and what is not. Does this seem a little crazy to you? You might respond with, "well, if the Bible says it is wrong it is wrong." What if the other person doesn't believe in the Bible? Is the lady in line in front of you who has too many packages or is writing a check when you are in a hurry breaking some moral code? Who decides what is right, wrong, moral or immoral? Is the guy driving slower than you want breaking a Biblical principal? Is the person on the school board who thinks the school colors should be blue and white rather than green and white violating some deep spiritual principle? Is 90% of what we get angry about really a violation of moral or Biblical law?
Automatically responding to things in life with anger is not something that HAS to be done. It is a choice! My question is, do we really need to choose anger? Can we just as easily choose to not be angry? We might say, "I am angry and I just can't help it!" Well, I believe we can.
Is it possible that if we lead with our heart instead of our mind, emotions, self righteousness and defensives up, that we might cut back on being angry? What if we walked in love, looking for ways to be accepting and loving, forgiving and gentle? What would happen? What if we walked every day understanding that anger is a choice we don't have to make?
Let's go back to Jesus in the temple for a moment. Can we picture Jesus chasing everyone out of the temple in anger? I imagine we can. Can we also picture Jesus chasing everyone out of the temple while not being angry? I imagine that is also possible. Most of us see the angry Jesus. I did too. But with all this writing about loving and caring for people, it is easier for me to see Him seeing something very wrong happening and being motivated to doing something about it. I see Him chasing everyone out to help clean the temple and make it the house of prayer His Father wanted it to be. He saw a wrong being done and took action to correct it. Being angry or not would not have caused Him to be successful at setting things right.
We are taught to be Jesus to others, to walk as He walked but how far are we willing to take that challenge? I also see Jesus as Emmanuel, God with us, and God walking among us. I see Him being wronged, witnessing all kind of moral wrong and the breaking of every law and teaching in the Bible at the hand of mankind. I see His response. Did He get angry and get even? What I learn from Jesus is that He gave up all He had and gave up His life by being crucified, so that all those who wronged Him, deserted Him, disobeyed Him, and ignored the teachings and principles of the Bible could be saved and have eternal life. I see that He loved every person who wronged Him, the Father, the Spirit and all they stand for by laying down His life that they/we may have life. I see that Jesus loved people far more than He was ever angered by them. They did what they did, yet He corrected, taught and loved them until the day He died. In fact, even on the day He died. He was mocked on the cross yet loved a criminal enough to tell Him they would meet in His kingdom.
When things that test you happen, lead with your heart and see where that takes you. We may just see that most of the time, anger is really ugly. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:9 reads, "Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools." Additionally, in my studying, most of what is written about anger in the Bible is not good. If we agree on that then, as I mentioned earlier, most of the time our anger is out of line and even things that are horrible can induce change but do not HAVE to insight anger.
Maybe if we become more aware of what our real motivations are for getting angry we might be less angry. If we lead with our hearts filled with love, maybe we can reduce the amount of anger all around us. Maybe we can see we are all flawed and we can be more gracious, loving and kind. If we can do that, even a little, the whole world around us may just be a better place.