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Lynette’s Story
I can remember the day my sister came home with a suspension slip in her hand for throwing an orange in the lunchroom. My father dragged her upstairs to the attic. There were loud noises, yelling, and crying. She limped down the stairs, bloody and bruised.
I can remember the beatings in the basement with a board, my father’s rage, the pain and the fear.
I can remember experiencing a “cold shoulder ”for days when I would disappoint someone.
I can remember my husband and I up in the attic two weeks after our daughter was born, screaming at each other and throwing things. I don’t remember what caused the anger or why it hurt so much. But I experienced anger’s pain, inner wounds, and loneliness.
I learned that anger was something to be feared, that it was cruel, loud, cold, silent, resentful, and threatening.
Ted ’s Story
I have long feared anger--my father’s and my own. My dad, an alcoholic whose drinking kept him from connecting with his family, had a quiet anger.
He didn’t beat us or yell at us for hours--he just sort of ignored us. My anger--which was really years ’worth of bitterness toward Dad--became violent and abusive and dangerous, especially after my father died and I couldn’t express my anger to the one I was really mad at because he wasn’t around anymore.
Looking back, I am ashamed of many of the things I said and did at that stage of my life. And I thank God for helping me forgive my father and learn how to be kind to my family, a family I almost lost because of my rage. Not all anger is wrong, but when it’s like mine was, only God can keep the individual and his family from going over the cliff. I praise Him for doing that for me and my family. The journey hasn’t been easy or quick, but God has drawn and sustained me with His love and faithfulness every step of the way, and He continues to do so.
All of us have experienced anger. Some of us have cringed under the rage in our families, struggled with it in our souls, felt it toward our friends and loved ones. Some of us have shocked others with volcanoes of anger.
But anger is not just a personal enemy. The evidence abounds that we live in a mad, mad, mad world. Statistics from American Demographics say that
·23% of Americans admit they openly express their anger.
·39% say they hold it in or hide it.
·23% say they walk away from the situation.
·23% confess to having hit someone in anger.
·17% admit they have destroyed the property of someone who made them mad.
We want to demonstrate to you that anger, though potentially harmful, is a complex emotion we can still learn more about and a positive force that God can use to accomplish His purpose in the world and in our lives today.
What Is Anger?
When you think about anger what words or pictures come to mind? Frustration? Rage? Anger can be defined as an aversive state ranging from annoyance to rage. Webster ’s says, “Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure and antagonism, indignation or an automatic reaction to any real or imagined insult, frustration, or injustice, producing emotional agitation seeking expression.”
Let ’s look at the problem of anger in our society. Anger’s effects are evident. There’s rampant violence in schools, families, and neighborhoods. For example:
· Severe violence is a chronic feature of 13% of all marriages.
· Typically 35 violent incidents occur before any type of report is made.
· Every 25 seconds someone is a victim of a violent crime such as murder, robbery, assault, or rape.
· Nearly a million children are abused by their parents annually.
· Adolescents represent 12% of the population but account for 39% of all violent crime.
For Christians, anger is one of the most troubling emotions! We hear blatant admonishments such as “Christians shouldn’t be angry” or “Christians can be angry but shouldn’t sin; but since we’re prone to sin, we shouldn’t get angry. ”So what happens to our anger? We end up feeling guilty for being angry, or we pretend we ’re not angry. Or we numb our feelings or turn our anger into depression.
How do you feel when you’re driving down the expressway and someone cuts in front of you,almost causing an accident? Or your mother tells you, “You’ll never change--you should be more like your sister/brother”? Or your boss blames you for something you didn’t do? What kinds of emotions do you feel then? Frustration and anger are normal responses to these situations.
But as Christians, we not only have difficulty owning up to and honestly expressing anger, but then we feel worse because of the guilt that ensues as a result of feeling angry.
Questions for Thought
1.Do you ever get angry? What kinds of situations most often make you feel angry?
2.How do you really feel about your own anger? Do you see it as a friend you can trust or a foe that might destroy you? Why?
3.Why is it so hard to acknowledge your own anger? What are you afraid might happen if you are honest or transparent about this? What can you do to become more comfortable about this?
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