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Being Angry

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Because I’ve been writing my heart out this week, I drew a blank when I sat down to write this blog post. So I visited the archives–this post is from 2012. Be sure to read the postscript so you can see how it all turned out. 🙂

“Be angry, and sin not.” Ephesians 4:26.

I don’t know if you ever watched “Hard Core Pawn” when it used to be on TV–it was a reality show about a pawn shop in Chicago.  Whenever that show came on I would sit with my mouth agape, unable to believe how everyone–store keepers and customers alike–flew off the handle, cursing and stomping and spewing all sorts of nasty things. I don’t think I could get that angry because a merchant didn’t want to buy my item. I CAN get angry, but I don’t do it very often. Most irritations are not worth the emotional expenditure. 🙂

Right now I am so angry I think I could literally explode–in fact, I may be close to stroking out, as my blood pressure was alarmingly high this morning.

Someone has consistently hurt someone I love, and I’ve about had it. That someone is close by, and I’m going to sit them down and talk to them like an older person ought to (and for the record, this is not my child–or my husband. LOL).  I’m going to vent my spleen, as they say, and I’m going to try to do it without sinning–without being destructive, without name calling, and without labeling.  But I’m going to name bad behaviors, state a penalty for those behaviors, and lay it all on the line.  I will EARN this red hair.

And then? Maybe I’ll be able to sleep.  I had to get up at four a.m. this morning because I couldn’t sleep and my head was beginning to pound. 

No wonder the Bible cautions us against anger–we are not to be friends with an angry man, lest we learn his ways, and we are not to harbor anger lest it turn into bitterness (another good reason to let it out instead of letting it stew.) 

And yet the Bible also says, “Be angry, and sin not.”  Jesus got angry–oh, yes He did.  He was angry when he overthrew the moneychangers’ tables in the Temple court, and he was angry when he called the Pharisees a bunch of “white-washed sepulchers.”  (There’s a word you don’t spell every day).   So it is possible–and sometimes necessary–to let your righteous anger flare.

But we must have good cause. And we must be careful that the firm–even stern–words we unleash are earned, and that they will be constructive, not destructive to the relationship at stake.  Most of all, we must give the object of our anger an opportunity to make things right again. Holding out the hope of restoration.

I do not often go public with personal things on this blog or any other, so you’ll simply have to accept what I say on this one.  But I’ve been up since before dawn, heart pounding, eyes narrowed, and I’m ready to sit someone down and let my temper fly.

But before I begin, I think I’d better repeat that mantra:  “Be angry, and sin not.”

(LOL!  I typed “sin now.”  Oops.) 

Angie 

P.S. Back to 2023: How did this all turn out? LOL–I have no idea. Honestly, I can’t even remember who made me angry or what the issue was. (I think it’s a mercy that the Lord sometimes blots things from our memory.) So whatever it was, I’ve learned a lesson: “this too shall pass.” Whatever it was, it wasn’t permanent. It wasn’t life-changing. It wasn’t worth blowing a gasket, so I’m glad I didn’t. 🙂

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Angela Hunt

Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who expect the unexpected in novels. With over five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 165 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to non-fiction books, to novels.

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Comments

  1. Oh, I just LOVE your postscript! What a great lesson. SO often, the things we get all bent out of shape about in the moment are completely forgotten not long into the future. Hopefully we remember the lessons we learned, but yes, God is gracious to let us forget the reason for the anger.

    • Isn’t it the truth? I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to remember what was going on back then, and . . . well, whatever it was, it just doesn’t matter any more. :-). I love that. I love that as the years go by and see see God’s continuing faithfulness, all the “stuff” of the past just isn’t relevant any more.

  2. Thanks so much for sharing this totally authentic and personal post. I’m so glad you don’t even remember what it was about and the lesson you learned. It’s one we all can learn from. My mom used to always say:”this too shall pass.” Reading it made me smile. She would have been 84 yesterday and if she was still here, I know she’d be saying it still whenever hard things came.

    • I had a wee bit of hesitation in posting this–who wants to be known, if even for a minute–as a raving woman? But it IS honest, and we all feel that way at some point. Thanks for the affirmation–and isn’t it a joy to know that one day you’ll hear your mother say that again? 🙂

      • Angie…we ALL having our “raving woman” moments. So glad the LORD used yours to bless us with His perspective. 🙂

        • Always–I don’t know how to relate to a perfect person . . . and the only way I can relate to Jesus is through his love. 🙂

  3. Definitely a good reminder.
    I confess that I sometimes have to pray that God will help me see a person who angers me as He sees that person. We all know God loves us so He must love that person too.

    • That’s always a good perspective. Sometimes hard to do, but it’s the right thing to do. 🙂

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