Years ago I had the opportunity to meet Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald. It was in the midst of a church trial in which I was serving as an advocate for the person accused of wrongdoing. I found Bishop Fitzgerald to be a caring individual and after this “church trial experience” was completed, he wrote me on occasion to express interest in my ministry and to thank me for being someone who was willing to seek truth. I was always thankful for his interest in my ministry and was saddened on the occasion of his death.A friend’s daughter-in-law sent me some of Bishop Fitzgerald’s writings. One writing was entitled It’s All Right to Get Mad. Since the church generally discourages anger, I immediately read it and found some very important insights. Allow me to share them.
There are instances when people “fly off the handle” and create havoc for themselves and the people around them. Sometimes fits of anger last only a few moments. At other times, anger smolders for months, even years. More often than not, the results are devastating. Because of these destructive effects, many people believe anger to be evil. Anger is not always bad. Three things should be remembered:
All of us have impulses which are not necessarily evil; these impulses are divine gifts. These impulses are as much a part of our lives as the instinctual response to hunger. The Great Teacher overturned tables of money-changers in the Temple and drove them away. And he was perfect! Temper is an important asset in life. A person without temper is too easily bent and often breaks. We must remember, however, it is not good to exercise impulses without restraint. It is the way these impulses are used that determines whether they are good or evil.
An old folk saying goes like this: “The size of a person can be measured by the size of the things it takes to make him or her mad.” Our problem is that we get mad about the wrong things. We should get angry about injustices, betrayed trusts, and evil forces. We should not get angry over trifles. If anger is to be power, it must be controlled. When the Great Teacher got angry in the Temple, he did not get angry with the evildoer. He was angry with the evil. Temper is to be controlled, not destroyed. We get mad when the neighbor cuts over the line of the yards or someone’s dog gets in our yard, or someone cuts us off in traffic. We must ask the question, “Am I losing my temper over something that counts?”
Psalm 8 poses the question to God: “What is man or woman that you are mindful of them?” He is the one who made us. Who we are and what we are must be used to glorify God. The church is blessed when we use who we are, and what we have in positive ways. Do you handle your anger or does it handle you?
Ken