Anger- James 1
James
1:17-27
It doesn't take me long to dig into my life to find examples of
anger. The other night I was making chocolate chip cookies with my two
sons. We mixed up all the ingredients and the boys took turns stirring. Then we
carefully placed the dough on the baking sheet and put them in the oven. The
boys sat in front on the oven staring in the window at the baking cookies. I
noticed that there was a sliding lock on the oven door and I thought it might
be a good idea to lock it with the boys being so interested in what was
happening inside. So I slide the lock over. Then the timer went off and we went
to open the stove and the lock wouldn't unlock. I pulled and wiggled, but the door
wouldn't budge. The lock was stuck tight. The boys stared in on our cookies
that were trapped in the oven and we could smell them cooked to perfection, but
not accessible. I could feel the anger welling up inside me. I was ready to get
the big hammer, or push the oven down the stairs. I felt like my skin was about
to turn green and my shirt would rip to shreds- Chris smash! ... I think the
oven had a lock that was set to only open below a certain temperature,
eventually we got the cookies, and they were even edible, though a little
crunchy.
That's a pretty trivial example. I
could give more examples. There was a time a man with road rage freaked
out at Crystal
There are lots of other causes
for anger. Many are not as trivial as the examples I've given, but there is
no shortage of examples. We live in a world with a lot of anger. We feel anger
when we believe a situation isn't fair, or just. Or, anger might just be
an indication that we aren't getting our own way. Things aren't being
done our way, or according to our expectations. We feel anger when we
can't control the situation. If we can't control the situation then we become afraid of what might happen.
That fear leads to desires for self-protection. That leads to us wanting
to fight to change the situation, or run away from it.
The emotion itself is natural.
Anger just happens, but the way we react to our anger is a choice. It is
natural to feel that initial feeling of anger, but it is our choice to yell and
scream or hit and throw things. Dwelling on the situation that is making us
angry can also be a choice. We could choose to think about something else.
Anger is given to us to highlight a situation. In that sense it is neutral,
neither good or bad, but we are completely responsible for our reactions to our
anger. Two people might encounter the same situation, but one flies off in a
rage and the other doesn't. We have a choice as to how we react. Acting in
anger can be quite dangerous.
The medical community has
started to see the effects of anger on health. Anger causes the release of a hormone called cortisol. In small doses it
can give a burst of energy. However, higher and prolonged presence of cortisol
can lead to serious health problems. Anger
has been linked to headaches, digestive problems, depression, high blood
pressure, stroke, heart disease, and can even impair the brain's ability to
think.[1]
Anger isn't just bad for your
health- It's bad for your soul too. Jesus says in Matthew 5:22,
"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a
brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a
brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says,
‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell."
Jesus sees
anger as the seed of murder. A person who is seething with anger
essentially is in the same condition as the person who is about to murder
someone. The outer act of murder would never happen except for the inner
disposition of anger. God's desire isn't for people who are seething with anger,
while holding themselves back from murder. God's desire is for people to be
filled with love who are peacemakers.
In our Gospel reading today Jesus
is saying that it is the inner disposition that leads to action that determines
a person's cleanness or uncleanness, not a specific ritual. Someone who is
filled with anger will have actions that flow from that inner disposition. That
shows the uncleanness. Ritual hand washing before eating, does not determine
the state of a person's soul. It's the condition of the heart that is the
root. The action is only the flower. Unless you change the root you will
always get the same flower. A rose root will produce a rose. A dandelion root
will produce a dandelion. Our actions show what is inside of us. They betray our
cleanness or uncleanness.
There are plenty of other verses we
could talk about. Jesus says in Matthew 5:43 “'You
have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your
enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you".
In his letter to the Ephesians (4:26 , 31), Paul says, 26 “'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go
down while you are still angry... 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling
and slander, along with every form of malice". At first this might seem like it is
allowing us permission to be angry- "in
your anger do not sin". But, we have to ask why Paul is telling us to
be so careful with our anger. "Don't let it last more than one day"
seems like what he's saying if we take him literally. It is dangerous. It is
especially dangerous if we let it seethe and become entrenched in our hearts.
So get rid of it. Get rid of all rage and anger.
The church
throughout history has also given us strong warnings about anger. Some have
allowed for it for the sake of justice and righteousness, but they also warn
that this is dangerous ground. Usually anger is spoken of negatively. The 4th
century monk John Cassian taught that anger can exclude God's Spirit from
dwelling within a person, and so he forbade expressions of anger. It has been
taught to be one of the deadly sins- commonly called "wrath".
The Church has taught that anger interferes with prayer, clouds judgement, is
dangerously self-justifying, and often leads to more sin. Some in the church
even taught that all expressions of anger were sinful.
It's about this point that we want to defend
our right to be angry. If we don't get angry people might abuse us. They
will walk all over us. We want to say that our anger energizes us to stand up
for justice and fight oppression. We might not want to call it anger. We want
to call it "righteous indignation", because in our anger we are
standing up for what is right.
But, it's at this point we are confronted
with today's reading from James.
(1:19 -20) "My dear brothers
and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak
and slow to become angry, because human
anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."
We say we want our anger because we
believe that it will help us stand up for justice and righteousness, but James
tells us plainly, "human anger does
not produce the righteousness that God desires". James says we are
wrong to hold onto our anger for the sake of justice and righteousness. The root of anger will always produce a
certain kind of flower. The way we protest against the injustices in the
world are as important as the end. The end and the means are one. The way we
protest produces a certain kind of world.
For example, when I hear about
someone abusing a child I can become really angry. So if I walk into a
room where I see a child being abused my anger will motivate me to do
something. But, if I'm motivated by my anger alone I will want to
destroy the abuser. The victim disappears. All that exists in my anger is the
abuser. ... However, if I walk in and am motivated by compassion,
instead of anger, the victim will be larger than the abuser in my vision. It is
also likely that I will be able to think more clearly about what to do and who
to call in order to make sure the abuser doesn't abuse anyone else and that the
victim is protected and cared for. ... Anger is destructive. Compassion leads
to wholeness and peace.
We might also want to defend our
anger by pointing to the anger of God in the Old Testament, or the anger of
Jesus in the New Testament. Without getting into a whole other sermon I'll just
say that we have to be careful about saying that because God or Jesus did
something that we have permission to do it. Just because God split the sea, and
Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead doesn't mean we are called to do the
same. We are called to imitate in some ways, but not in others. There are
reasons that would allow God to act in anger justly, when we would be. God has
all the information and sees all situations clearly- we don't. Also, we have to
consider that God and Jesus have the moral character to use their anger without
sinning. We are dramatically broken and likely don't have the character to act
in our anger without sinning. Also, what we know as 'anger' might not be equivalent
to 'anger' when applied to God. We often project our anger onto God and Jesus-
for example when Jesus turns over the money changers tables in the temple. There's more we could say, but that's another
sermon for another day.
Jesus, and Paul, and James, and many
others throughout the history of the church have taught us that anger is
dangerous and leads to sin. So what do we do? What we don't do is
repress it. Bottling up our anger is really just another way of holding
onto it. What we do is that when we feel the initial anger, we stop.
We slow down. We recognize the anger. We name it. Then we put the situation
into perspective. We look at it in comparison to the big picture. So someone
made a mistake on the road and cut you off. Have you ever made a mistake on the
road? How would you hope to be treated if it was you who made the mistake?
Maybe you think they were really trying to be a jerk. Why do you think that? Why
not assume it was a genuine mistake? But, even if it was wilful, in the overall
scheme of things is it worth getting worked up about? Why not use this as an
opportunity to learn the virtue of patience? Is there any other way to learn
patience except through learning to deal with frustrating situations? Remind
yourself of Jesus' words. If we can learn to love someone who cuts us off on
the road, perhaps we can start to learn love an enemy. This doesn't mean don't
confront someone who has wronged you. By all means confront them, just not in
anger.
When we learn to live in cooperation with
God's Spirit living in us and working through us, then we can allow anger to be
transformed. Like I said earlier, it's not wrong to feel that initial burst
of anger, but our reaction to that initial burst is what matters. We can allow
anger to rule us and we can throw things and yell and scream, or we can
choose to breathe and slow down. We can recognize that we are feeling angry,
but we don't have to let it rule us. We can allow it to float through our minds
and leave as easily as it came, but that takes practice and it takes a
continual training our minds on God. We can learn to follow God and God's way
alone, which is meekness. Meekness is submission to God alone, not the
bullies around us. Sometimes meekness means standing up against bullies in
submission to God's will. In this we learn to be God's instruments to create
peace wherever we are because we know that is the will of God.
As
we learn to live and move in God's will,
and as we allow God to work in us and through us, then when something
doesn't go our way, or something isn't perfect and it bothers us, we will be
reminded that we are not God. We can give our desire to control to God. When
we feel alone and afraid we will be reminded that God is always with us. When
we make mistakes, or others in our lives make mistakes, we will be reminded that
God knows all of it and still works through it and still loves us and them. When
we see something that is unfair we can remind ourselves that we should respond,
but that anger will not bring about the righteousness God desires. We live in a
broken place, but God will not allow anything that he cannot redeem and bring
good out of. In the end God will have the last word. Putting the situation into
the bigger picture can make our anger seem quite petty, but in the moment we
feel completely justified.
Anger is a reality in all of our
lives. We all choose how we react to it. The guidance we are given in the Bible
about anger isn't to make life harder for us. We develop habits and patterns
around anger that can be hard to break. Sometimes the ways we react are
destructive. They are destructive to the people we live and work with- our
friends and families- or strangers on the street. Sometimes the way we react to
our anger is destructive for us. It is dangerous for our bodies, but it is also
dangerous for our soul. The guidance we are given isn't to make life harder, it
is to ultimately make our lives better and make the world a better place. It is
about God's kingdom being established in our lives. Amen.
Questions:
1. What makes you most angry and why?
2. What usually happens when you act out of anger (in that moment and in hours or days following)?
3. Why does James say that human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires?
4. What steps can you take to deal with anger in your life?
http://www.help-your-child-with-anger.com/effects-of-anger.html
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/how-anger-hurts-your-heart
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counselloradvice9771.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dsbsf/episodes/guide
For more on Anger consider the following:
The Good And Beautiful Life by James Bryan Smith (chapter 4)
Back to Virtue by Peter Kreeft (chapter 10)
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