Anger: Ally Or Enemy? by Kay Camenisch VOLUME 21, NO

Anger: Ally or Enemy? by Kay Camenisch VOLUME 21, NO. 2 SPRING 2012

former inmate said anger is the only acceptable But a thought crossed Jose’s mind, Do you want to be like emotion in prison. There are many reasons to be you used to be? He froze. He enjoyed the freedom he’d found angry behind bars: loss of freedom, disrespect in Christ. He didn’t want to go back to the old lifestyle. A from fellow inmates, and so-called friends and He slowly put the bottle back on the table and took a deep family that have vanished. Besides, some days it seems if breath. Watching. Waiting. you aren’t angry, you’ll get run over. You don’t dare let your The door opened. A couple walked in and sat down at a guard down and show a weak underbelly. Anger can seem table. It opened again and more people entered. like your best friend. The troublemakers turned and walked out the door. Jose In contrast, what the Bible says about anger seems was amazed. He had waited, and God had delivered him. strange. Ephesians 4:31 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath We all have a choice. Do we want to continue our old life? and anger … be put away from you, along with all malice.” Put Or, like David and Jose, are we willing to put down our weap- all anger away? What’s wrong with being tough when you’re in ons and trust God to be our defense? a tough environment? God apparently knew we’d ask. He answers the question When you’re threatened or tempted to be angry, in James 1:20. He says, “The anger of man does not achieve stop and ask yourself: the righteousness of God.” Righteousness is talking about being in right – or healthy – relationships with God and with • Will anger make my life better, or will it keep me in the people around you. Healthy relationships build others up and same old rut? make them better people. • Who is better able to protect me? Myself? Or the One Instead of building people up, anger tears them down. It who made me and promised to be my shield? destroys relationships. It may achieve your immediate goal, but it leaves destruction in its wake. If we want peace, we When Bad Things Happen need to build up individuals and relationships. We have all known people who seem to listen and obey God, but terrible things happen to them. Why? Where’s God for them? Responding Without Anger A glimpse at the life of Joseph – whose story is told in the If that’s the case, how do we respond when someone threatens book of Genesis – shows how we can trust God to use even or wrongs us? Jesus said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But bad things for good, even when we don’t understand why God if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other would allow them to happen. Joseph was sold into slavery in also” (Matt. 5:39). Does that sound like a recipe for disaster? Egypt by his jealous older brothers. While serving faithfully as Before you picture what could happen if you turn the other a slave, Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison, cheek, consider David. David lived in Bible times and tried where he remained for years. Joseph didn’t know what God’s to please God and the king, Saul. Saul was jealous of David plans were for him, but he chose to live righteously, and God and commanded his men to kill him. Even though an army honored him. God made Joseph second to the king of Egypt, was after him, David saw God as his shield. He ran to God allowing Joseph to save his family from starvation during a and took refuge in Him, and God kept him from harm. famine. The Lord will be our shield and deliverer, too. We don’t After 13 years of hardship, Joseph finally saw his brothers have to be angry to defend ourselves. Jesus promised that He again when they came to him for food. They were afraid of Jo- will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). No matter what seph, but he told them not to fear, that God sent him to Egypt situation we’re in, He is available to protect and deliver us if to preserve life. He later said, “You meant it for evil, but God we run to Him. meant it for good.” I recently heard of a former inmate –we’ll call him Jose– In the same way, God can use your hard circumstances for who was alone in a restaurant, cleaning up after the lunch a great purpose if you place your trust in Him – even when it crowd. It was almost three hours before the supper rush seems like His promises of protection and help don’t look the when four local toughs came in and spread around the room, way you thought they would. n moving toward him. Jose figured he could take three of them out. He instinctively grasped the neck of a bottle on a nearby Kay Camenisch is the author of Uprooting Anger, a Bible study to identify roots of anger and thus overcome it. table. He was ready.