The Shape of Anger

Celeste and I had an interesting conversation last night about anger.

You see, we have two small children. Both work to test us on a regular basis, pushing the boundaries, seeing how far they can go. Intentionally disobeying, throwing fits, you know the drill. And Piper, at her present age, is particularly good at this, in that she can actually articulate her rebellion. "NO!!!"

So I was praying about this on my way to work this morning, praying for Celeste and me to have peace as we respond to our kids in those times. It occurred to me as I was praying for peace that the anger itself is not really the problem, its just the shape of the anger.

Did you know that anger comes in many shapes? It comes in the shape of an enraged face. It comes in the shape of harsh words or shouting at the top of our lungs. Sometimes it comes in the shape of something leaning toward violence -- spanking a child in anger, when the parent out of control, is not healthy, nor is breaking something, or punching the wall. (I had a friend in high school that punched a brick wall in anger; he broke several bones in his hand! Not healthy.)

But anger itself isn't a sin, and it's not unhealthy. Jesus got angry sometimes. God gets angry -- I seem to recall seeing the word 'wrath' in the Bible, attributed to God. Look it up!

But as we strive to be like the Father and the Son, I think we have to figure out ways to ensure that our anger is shaped by love. After all, the scriptures say that God is love -- as my friend Stephen points out, love isn't something he does, or something that describes him, it's what he IS.

So what in the world does love-shaped anger look like?

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On a side note, if you don't read the blog entries of Patrick Mead ... you should. He had a great line the other day: "Jesus did not go to Calvary so I don't have to go to the movies by myself." Want the context? Read his blog! :-)

B