An Age of Rage

Passage for the Day: Psalm 37:1-11

We live in an age of rage... by studying anger and its power, we can learn self-control so that we do not need to lose our temper in rage or abuse ourselves with resentment, but can defuse anger by resolving circumstances and then use the energy of anger through Christlike indignation.

The following summary, written in the form of resolutions, can form a point of departure for us as we continue with life. We should reflect prayerfully about how we can incorporate these ideals in our own lives.

• To keep my life centered on God, as best I can, recognizing that when I do not, my natural self will generate things to become angry about;
• To not condemn myself for feelings of anger;
• To do everything I can to avoid acting on the basis of anger;
• To clean up any problems I create as quickly as possible;
• To recognize God's help in this process;
• To redirect the energy of anger away from hurting people and toward improving conditions for people;
• To be sensitive to injustice and evil, learning to be angry about the misery that sin inflicts on people without becoming controlled by the anger.

It has been my observation, in counseling on problems of anger control, that each person who has sought God's help in understanding and resolution of his or her anger has, without exception, received that help. These people ahve described the results as "miraculous". There is, indeed, a miracle involved. It is the miracle of God's love for us, the miracle of His redemptive grace.

- Richard P. Walters

Note from the editor: I liked verse 13 following this reading, which says: but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming... It is a nice focus of this reading to remind others that while it may seem that the wicked and evil seemingly prevail, these psalms encourage people to focus on rejoicing in good works and to "refrain from anger and turn from wrath" which only leads to more evil... evil is short-lived. God handles it in His own ways and in His own time - we must remember that in the long run, there is no place for evil and its gains are only short lived.

I liked Richard Walters' resolutions - for many of us, anger is a point of struggle and not all of us are as well advised on the Christlike solution to therapy for anger-management. I have been through therapy before, and one of the tenets to managing uncomfortable feelings and pent-up emotions is to first: recognize our emotions (such as anger) for what they are - neither elevating or putting ourselves down for having them. Then the next step is to think logically about their source... where are these emotions coming from? What problems or challenges have drawn them out into our life? It is amazing to see that Biblically (such as in today's reading), there is some deep-set wisdom towards self-therapy and healing for the wounds and burdens of negative emotions such as anger.