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Anger

by Penny Williams

One day quite a few years back, Leo Held went into his plant where he worked and boldly killed four of his coworkers and wounded a fifth. No one could understand this, of all people, Leo? After all, he was a good father, a good husband, he was highly respected in his community. What could have possible triggered this?

Investigations revealed that months earlier the five men had something to do with denying Leo a promotion. Leo's wife had noticed a marked difference in his personality, but still, he complained to no one. However, one day he decided to give in to the hostility that he was feeling and take vengeance into his own hands. And this is why he went ahead and pocketed two pistols - a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson and a .45 automatic - and went after his former five friends.

True, Leo probably felt betrayed. Leo chose not to deal with his negative feelings in line with what God says. Instead, he internalized his anger. When anyone ""stuffs" his anger continually inside and doesn't deal with it, something is going to give! Usually, the result is explosive.

Today, many Christians are taught that it is wrong to feel upset or angry. So, they end up repressing their anger like Leo did, for awhile. When you hold that anger inside, it doesn't go away. In fact, the problem begins to build. Eventually all this bottled-up anger is turned upon the person who that one is resenting inside. When we "stuff" our anger inside, we either trigger depression, complicate interpersonal relationships, or erupt in some physical problem.

One man who bottled up his negative emotions ended up with shingles. Another lady felt sinful if she expressed her inner feelings. So, she trapped them inside. Each continual emotional repression turned into muscular tension and muscular tension triggered arthritis.

Another man figured he could go for long periods of time allowing negative things to build up inside of him, however it wasn't long before he found himself slapping his wife, beating his children and blowing up on the job. Depression and guilt followed his behavior, as he knew he was ruining the very relationship he so desperately craved.

God doesn't want us to eliminate our emotions. It is He who created them. Many times, in the Bible we see illustrations of God's anger. And, in the New Testament we are shown that Jesus also got angry and expressed it. In fact, He called the Scribes and Pharisees "hypocrites, blind leaders of the blind." He accused them of inward corruption. Later He said "serpents and vipers." We know He was angry!

The Scribes and Pharisees had misled the people. They projected themselves as Prophets even though inwardly they were far from God. They failed to recognize the truly wise people of Israel and the real godly Prophets. They were prejudiced, tyrannical and intolerant.

It is not a sin to feel anger. It is the direction that anger takes, whether it becomes wrong or not. How you respond towards that which has offended you. We can use this energy to attack the problem instead of the person, thing, or circumstance that brought it on in the first place.

No, don't go taking out your anxieties by punching a pillow. At best, this is only temporary. You want to direct your force against the problem not against a thing. Remember, a man does not have to take a gun and go shoot a person to be a murderer. Jesus said that if we even think of murder, that we've already committed it in our hearts.

The answer? Jesus said, we must be willing to forgive and forget. He never said this would be easy. Christians are never to wait for the offender to come to them. You're to go to him and reconcile.

There are going to be many differences with others in your lives, and many should be overlooked. Solomon said, "the discretion of a man defers his anger (delays it) and it's his glory to pass over a transgression." It takes a wise man who will hold back his anger and overlook many faults.

Any problem that comes up should be short-lived. If you deal with your problems on a day to day basis, you will crush what otherwise could be an ugly giant that would crush you. Give you and your spouse a special time to talk to one another. Be truthful, honest, gentle and loving when you bring up those bothersome things. Look for a way to deal with it. Now, that it is exposed to the light, you can deal with it, not harbor wrong thoughts, and you can forgive and allow God to remove it from your memory banks.

It has been my experience that it is the little things that start the fires. If we don't throw kindling upon the fire, it won't be allowed to burn. Throw the rain from heaven instead. Be determined to love radically.

Lastly, with every cloud that hovers over your life, the Son always shines through if we let Him.

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