There’s so much discomfort out there lately, much confusion, a great deal of fear. But mostly, I’m feeling and seeing that there’s more anger than we’re used to dealing with. And more than ever before, people are voicing and venting their anger.
There’s lots of different types of anger, and much stems from frustration. There’s the road rage brand of anger, when we’re cut off in our lane, there’s the anger of impatience when we’ve been on hold forever, there’s the anger of being misunderstood when we’re simply trying to make a point. And the list goes on, doesn’t it? These angers come and go, often going as quickly as they came, and we may not even dwell on them.
Then there’s the anger that leaves us shaken and devastated when the trust of a friend has been broken, when we see hurt inflicted on innocent people for a purpose we can’t fathom, when impactful wrongs are committed. Anger that sticks.
Whether it’s righteous or not, anger always feels like a negative emotion. It’s debilitating, it’s exhausting. But it’s the price we pay for caring.
Anger is not sinful. In fact, both Old and New Testaments tell us it’s okay to get angry…but do not sin. So, don’t let the anger turn into something else. It’s for us to discern where the cutoff is!
Perhaps the trick is to figure out what to do with that anger, how to spend it, how to replace that emotion with one that can heal or reconcile. How do we diffuse our anger? Well, maybe it’s the same way we get to Carnegie Hall! [altogether now, “practice, practice”!]
But seriously, practice! You know the things – prayer, meditation, exercise, even a good b%&#h session with a friend. It’s knowing when you need a self-intervention and giving up, letting loose on that anger, being willing to let it go. And yes, it might come back, probably will, but that’s why we practice.
Try praying and meditating with the Psalms. They’re great for anger because so many of them are fraught with anger! The Psalms express the extreme anger, frustration, and emotion that we dare not utter ourselves. These types of Psalms represent the universal reality of injustice in a fallen world, and they’re meant to show us how to respond to injustice and, yes, to anger. In the Psalms, we’re invited to speak our anger, but to release it and leave the vengeance and judgment to God.
There are many Psalms that are referred to (by scholars, not by me) as imprecatory, they are “Psalms of anger” or “Psalms of wrath”. One that’s classified as most intense is Psalm 109 if you want to give it a go!
Psalms will take us to that low, name-calling, ill-wishing, cursing, violent state but then they will bring us back. When they bring us back, it’s truly beautiful if you let yourself flow with it. Try it! And let me know!
Archdeacon Denise