Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. Psalm 37:8
Is it OK to be angry?
Yes.
Is it OK to be upset?
Yep.
Is it OK to be full of anger?
No.
Is it OK for anger to dictate my emotions?
Heck no.
Is it OK to dwell in anger?
Absolutely not.
There is a difference between allowing yourself to be angry and dwelling in anger.
When something terrible happens, it’s OK to become angry.
It’s an emotion. Perfectly natural.
Jesus became angry.
God has been angry.
It’s OK.
BUT when anger moves from simply a reaction to an emotion that dictates my actions and moods, it’s not OK.
You cannot allow anger to rule in your heart.
If anger dictates your actions, you are a nasty person.
Not someone anyone cares to be around.
If anger rules in your heart, you are bitter and full of rage.
Angry people spread their poison to anyone within earshot.
They believe life is terrible and all hope is lost.
They want revenge and will do or say whatever they feel in the moment.
Angry people don’t care if or when they hurt other people’s feelings -because they themselves are hurt.
Wounded people can become angry if they allow anger to dictate their emotions.
Wouldn’t it be almost comforting to be angry?
Is it justified? Yes, sometimes, it is.
But we can choose life or we can choose death.
We can choose to be victims or we can choose to overcome.
We can choose to let anger rule our emotions or we can become an example of humility.
What did Jesus choose to do when He was faced with the injustice of the cross and stood before His accusers?
Jesus would have most certainly been justified to feel anger.
He would have been justified to become sarcastic and tell those false accusers a thing or two.
Instead, He chose to be silent and choose life.
If Jesus would have succumbed to anger, He would have changed history.
When we are in the midst of injustice, we can choose anger or we can choose to be like Jesus.
We can choose life.
Let’s be honest.
It’s fun to be angry.
It’s WAY more pleasant to plan revenge then wait and pray about our response.
Keep quiet? Are you kidding?
An eye for an eye, right?
When we are slow to respond in a bad situation, we allow God to work through the details.
He might have us react in an entirely different way than we planned.
He might have us use strong words.
He might have us quietly observe.
He might use us as bold expressions of His love.
But we will never know how He wants us to respond if we continually respond in the flesh only as we want.
Photos by Japheth Mast, Jason Rosewell, Caleb Woods, & Leo Rivas on Unsplash
Amy Linnea 
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