Handling anger creatively

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 16, 20 September 1983, Page 12

Handling anger creatively

Revd. TeW. Melbourne

'Me angry? Cdrtainly not -I'll punch you in the nose for saying that!' Even though some people never show their anger, everybody gets angry sometimes. Society, and this includes the church, tends to teach us that anger is bad and to show our feelings is immature. There is nothing wrong with being angry. Anger is a God-given emotion and no emotions are wrong. But we can make wrong use of them. There are many things we ought to be angry about: social injustice, child abuse, greed, acts of inhumanity and even the kind of religion that prevents people becoming whole and free. One of the worst things a person can do is to repress anger and deny it. Longterm repressed anger turns into hidden hostility and contaminates everything a person does. Hidden hostility can show itself in many ways: a negative, critical attitude, nagging, sarcasm, gossip, hatred, slamming doors, silent treatment, aggressive driving, rebellion, rage, withdrawal etc. Repressed anger may corae out in the form of some psychosomatic illness:

ulcers, asthma, arthritis, heart ailments and .many others. Aristotle says about anger 'Anyone can become angry ... that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, fpr the right purpose and in the right way ... that is not easy.' A helpful question to ask yourself if you think you might be over-reacting is, 'Should I be this angry?' Because repressed anger is so destructive it is meant to ' be dealt with. Proverbs 14:29 says, 'A wise man eontrols his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes.' This isn't an excuse for denying one's anger, as denial can be an even greater mistake. 'So get rid of your feelings of hatred', advises the Bible. 'Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty' (1 Peter 2:1). 'Don't let the sun go down with you still angry — get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil' (Ephesians 4:26). How do you resolve anger? We will look at this next week.