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August 1, 2007
TICKED?
As a
passenger boarded the Los Angeles-to-New York plane,
he told the flight attendant to wake him and make
sure he got off in Dallas. The
passenger awoke just as the plane was landing in New
York. Furious, he
called the flight attendant and demanded an
explanation. The
attendant mumbled an apology and, in a rage, the
passenger stomped off the plane.
“Boy,
was he ever mad!” another crew member
observed to her errant colleague.
Anger is an easy
emotion for all of us to tap into. The sources of our
anger are varied: A
perceived loss of control, factors affecting
our values, memories of events and
experiences from our past...
Anger, as an emotional state,
can range from mild irritation to an
intense rage. Often,
when
we’re angry we change physically: our blood
pressure goes up, our adrenaline begins
to flow.
The
Apostle Paul writes, “Be angry
and yet do not sin”
(Ephesians 4:4).
Anger can lead to
sinful behavior - actions and
attitudes which are destructive
to us and to others - which are
against the will of God. Will
Rogers said, “Whenever you
fly into a rage, you seldom
make a safe landing.”
A man once tried to
rationalize his angry
outbursts. “There’s
nothing wrong with losing
my temper,” He
said. “I blow up,
and then it’s all over.”
“So
does a shotgun,”
came the reply, “and
look
at the damage it
leaves behind!”
The
Bible teaches us
that there is
anger which can
lead us to acts of
righteousness.
Perhaps the
most familiar is
Jesus driving out
those who had made
the Temple into a
place of shady
business rather
than a place of
prayer (Mark
11:15-17).
Strange as
it may seem, God
has blessed us
with the ability
to be angry.
However,
seldom, when I
am warming up
to a good fit
of anger, do I
think about
the
differences
between
“destructive”
and
“righteous”
anger.
Perhaps the
best proactive
approach to
anger is
retroactive.
Trying
to understand
what it is
that we are
angry about
and why.
Spending time
away from the
intensity of
the moment -
even
physically
removing
ourselves from
the situation
- gives us the
opportunity to
see our
emotion and
its source
with greater
clarity.
Sometimes
this may mean
talking
through things
with someone
who can give
us an
objective
perspective on
what we’re
feeling.
It is
really helpful
to understand
“what” taps
into our
reservoir of
anger so that
we can take
control of the
emotion before
it takes
control of us.
One
of the most
helpful things
I have found
in dealing
with anger is
to take my
introspection
to God in
prayer.
I have
found that God
desires to
help me
understand the
source of my
anger and how
best to deal
with
situations
which lead me
to an angry
response.
My
prayers can go
something like
this, “
God, I’m
really ticked
and I don’t
know why.
Help me
to understand
what’s going
on.” “God,
help me to
calm down and
to understand
how you want
me to
respond.”
Or, this
really tough
prayer, “God,
what is it
that this
anger is
showing me
about myself
that you want
to deal
with?” Sometimes
a simple, “HELP!”
is also
effective in
getting me
into a place
where I am
looking to God
to do His work
in my life.
Placing our
lives and
situations in
God’s hands
means that He
can use our
anger to help
us grow closer
to Him, to
eliminate
destructive
behavior, to
stand up to
injustice, and
even to serve
Him.
With
God, we do not
need to be
bound by anger
but we can
grow through
it.
The
next time you
feel angry
take that
anger to God
and see what
He does with
it.