Christian spirituality: Exiting the house of anger
No real transformation emerges from giving vent to anger if it masks things we would rather hide, such as grief, regret and shame
Cold-served survey results have a tendency to unveil the illusions that we cultivate in our perception. The yearly released Gallup Global Emotions Report has been reporting a prevalent presence of anger among the Maltese population. Despite a marginal improvement last year, we remain among the angriest populations in Europe and find ourselves right at the top 40% in the world of angriest nations.
Anger is an inherently human emotion; it is a response to a stimulus, and the best way we have come to understand it is as a response to when something or someone gets in the way of our desired outcomes, when things are not as they should be. To the surprise of many, Jesus Himself was capable of anger and He expressed it vividly and physically in the Temple, drawing out “legitimate” business being carried out on Temple grounds.
Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown.In Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown has compared anger to the engine light of a car. The moment it turns on, it usually means we should pull over as soon as possible to check what the issue is. Anger also carries a spectrum of intensity, ranging from mild irritations and annoyances, all the way up to fury and rage.
While we cannot morally evaluate anger, there are both healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with it. Anybody can attest to how keeping it all in or chronically expressing anger is harmful for mind, spirit and body. William Blake phrases this eloquently in his poem ‘A Poison Tree’ when he says that “I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
What to make of our high levels of anger as a population? As a secondary emotion, what is our anger masking? What are the external stimuli triggering a prevalent sense of anger and its closely related emotion of stress?
Returning to when Jesus angrily drove out the merchants and exchequers from the Temple, it is worth noting that the evangelists seek to give an interpretation for His anger and indignation. By quoting scripture they tell us that, behind the violent gesture, was a profound desire in Jesus’s heart that all would rediscover what true worship really was.
What are the external stimuli triggering a prevalent sense of anger and its closely related emotion of stress?
The title of this article refers to an emerging phenomenon – an activity that gives people the opportunity (or, perhaps, the illusion?) of dealing with their anger. Participants are given the chance to vent their anger at objects by destroying and trashing them to pieces. But we know all too well from experience that, as freeing as this might momentarily feel, no real transformation emerges from smashing a dozen plates or a TV set.
Anger has the potential to become a catalyst for change if honesty and courage are put in the same crucible with it. Anger has the potential to bring much-needed change in a variety of areas. More gently, we can also discover that our anger masks things we would rather hide, such as grief, regret and shame.
Whatever the source is, personally and collectively, the survey numbers and our everyday experience invite us to pull over and do some checks if we want to beckon a sense of wellness and fulfilment.