Owning Anger
You make me so mad sometimes!
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. - Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Did you ever think about how we talk about anger?
When we experience anger, we tend to blame the emotion on someone or something else. Anger, it seems, is not so much a reaction we can control, but a justifiable response to a provocation.
It is as if the person we are angry with brought the anger with him and we are its victims.
In today's letter to the Church in Ephesus, Paul calls us out on this and other falsehoods we carry and use against each other.
Paul tells the followers to be angry, but do not sin. Experience it and let it go before it sets in and becomes part of you.
If we can do that, we can own our anger, treating it honestly, knowing it comes from us and is not dropped on our heads by someone else.
If we bathe in bitterness, we will always find ourselves drenched in emotion, looking for someone to lash out at and blame for our misery.
Jesus got angry and got over it. He brought himself back to the place of peace with his brothers and I believe that is what he expects of us.
Of course, today, it is easy to lash out and leave the anger out there, letting it attract more and more reactions from others eager to add to it.
That is why we need to find kindness and share it with all.
It is in far too short supply these days, and if we aren't careful, we may lose it altogether. We may never get it back.
More to come...