Being okay with being angry
Sure, I get angry. But as a nice Christian, I feel conflicted about being angry and how to express my anger.
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When Christians talk about anger, they often point to Jesus upending the vendors’ tables in the temple. Jesus was upset that this house of prayer had been turned into a flea market. He didn’t hold back, calling the vendors “robbers” (Matthew 21:12-13). Surely if gentle Jesus can express anger, Christians can—and sometimes should—too.
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But other Christians point to the Beatitudes, those verses in Matthew where Jesus talks about who is blessed. He mentions “the meek”, “the peacemakers”, and “the merciful.” He also says “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11). He goes on to say we should rejoice when that happens, because we will be rewarded in heaven.
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The Apostle Paul puts it simply: get angry, then get over it. Anger is a natural, even primal, response to fear. But if we sit with anger long enough, it can become a more insidious creature like hate or revenge, or lead to lasting feelings of sadness or depression.
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I don’t know what to do with anger. But getting to the bottom of why I’m angry (scared) and making my peace with that is probably a good place to start.
“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”