Be Angry, But…

In Ephesians, chapter 4: 25-5:1, Paul writes, “Be angry but do not sin…

It’s a fine line, isn’t it?

I was listening to a podcast interview with Sylvia Boorstein the other day and she said, “I remember my father, who is now long gone, hearing me teach about transforming anger into work in the world; doing something. And he’d say, ‘I need my anger, Sylvia. It motivates me to do all the activism that I do.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, you do need it, Dad. You need it just to alert you to what needs attention. But you don’t need to carry it along with you…  And as a matter of fact, if you keep nurturing the flame of anger, it confuses the mind and… you won’t respond as wisely as you ought to.’”

There are indeed times when we should be angry. And, there are indeed some things we should be angry about. (The fact that there are hungry children in our wealthy country would be one.)  Anger is a God given emotion and even Jesus got angry.  But how we channel our anger, makes all the difference. 

Viktor Frankl has this great quote. He said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” 

In between the time something happens, and the time we respond, there is a space. The longer we pause, the greater the space. In that space is our power to choose. The longer the pause, the greater our power… the greater our capacity to decide, is this something worth engaging in? Or is this something I should simply let go of? And if I do want to wisely engage, how should I do so – without making matters worse?    

May we be the kind of people who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. (James 1:19). May we be the kind of people who pause in order to see more clearly when to let go, and when to wisely engage. 

Let us pray:  God of Grace, we thank you for your love for us, and your love for the world around us.  We don’t have to look far to see tremendous need. We pray today for healing for ourselves and for others. When anger arises within us, help us to pause, and give us the wisdom to respond with grace.  May we ever reflect your love in all we do, and in all we say. In Jesus’ name, Amen.