How should a Christian deal with anger?
Discussion question for October 23, 2009.
What does anger do to me? Is there an appropriate time for anger, and how would I recognize it? How can I determine if I’m (too) angry? What should I do about anger?
Discussion question for October 23, 2009.
What does anger do to me? Is there an appropriate time for anger, and how would I recognize it? How can I determine if I’m (too) angry? What should I do about anger?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
Anger is an emotion. It can be expressed with action, but the underlying issue is the emotion whether or not action is taken. Sometimes anger is an acceptable emotion that is felt or expressed to hide a more unacceptable emotion, such as fear, rejection, or worthlessness.
Anger can come from expectations not met. When a desired outcome isn’t reached or standard met it can lead to personal frustration. This triggers anger. Anger can also come from personal attack or perceived risk of loss. It is most often self-referenced or rooted in pride.
The Bible says we should “in your anger do not sin” in Ephesians 4:26 and Psalm 4:4. This indicates that some anger is appropriate. The Bible also describes God as angry in some circumstances. This comes from a hatred for sin (but not the sinner). To the extent that we share the same reason for anger that God does, this would be righteous anger. This is appropriate, but should not be allowed to become sin, perhaps by holding it too long.
Anger accumulates in the body, waiting for a time to be expressed. Because it won’t dissipate on its own, any triggering event can cause an explosion of anger. This occurs when the expressed anger is out of proportion to the triggering event. This situation is an indication that latent anger resides inside the person. Physical manifestations of pent up anger are high blood pressure, headaches, heart problems, stroke, digestive issues, and more.
Now that we recognize it, and have a larger vocabulary with which to talk about it, we should focus our next discussion about anger management.
Tune in next Friday.