ANGRY ALL THE TIME

 

 

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” they tell us.

 

In the sixties country singer Dave Dudley had a hit with Mad, a song about a small gal of 5’3” and 108 pounds who was “sweet and mighty nice, but when she’s mad she’s got a voice that can cut through ice.”

 

Another country hit by Terri Clarke is entitled I Just Wanna Be Mad (For A While).  And country singer Tim McGraw had a recent hit called Angry All the Time, about a lady who fell prone—and prey—to such an agitated mental state.

 

Dynamite comes in small packages, they say.  We sometimes laugh at these things, but in all fairness we should note that it is not only women who get angry--and remain that way.

 

We might do well to note the subject matter of the latter two songs.  Deliberately staying mad for an unspecified length of time to get one’s way—or being angry “all the time” for the same reason—may not contribute to a healthy frame of mind.

 

In Proverbs 14:29-30 we read (NASB):

 

He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.
A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness to the bones.

 

Staying angry can keep the “fight or flight” mechanism at a high level and not allow much time for calmer, more laidback pursuits.  “A soothing tongue is a tree of life” (Prov. 15:4). 

 

There is a time to be angry, if our anger is righteous—against sin--as we find in Ephesians 4:26-27:

 

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷nor give place to the devil.

 

In fact, there may be “a time to throw stones” (Ecc. 3:5), but before we get mad and throw stones we had better be sure our own lives are in order—especially in those areas where we would point a finger at others (John 8:7).

 

We need to let go of anger quickly, before it causes all kinds of damage to ourselves and those around us.  Hanging on to it is not healthy.  Christians need to be forgiving folks, not normally angry or resentful.  In fact, they must forgive others if they want to be forgiven themselves (Mt. 6:14-15).

 

Indeed, a Christian should not be especially irritable or touchy:  “Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered” (1 Cor. 13:5, Contemporary English Version) or “easily provoked” (KJV).or “is not irritable” (New Revised Standard Version & New Living Translation).  “Love [God’s love in us] does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful” (Amplified Bible).

 

If we observe the Golden Rule or, in fact, at times consider others as even better than ourselves, we will not be prone to hanging on to anger for any length of time:  “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil. 2:3, NKJV).

 

We should never forget the words of Proverbs 16:32: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.”

 

Part of the problem, for sure, is silly pride: “Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.  Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiates 7:8-9, NASB).  See the article Pride..

 

Being vengeful or vindictive has no place in the life of a Christian who realizes that vengeance belongs to God.  Thus we have the instruction of Romans 12:19:

 

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

Indeed, love “takes no account of the evil done to it—pays no attention to a suffered wrong” (1 Cor. 13:5, Amplified Bible).

 

Proverbs 15:18 says, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute.”  Remaining calm and quiet, rather than stirring up strife and contention, is also aided by the instruction found in 1 Thessalonians 4:11:  “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business” (NASB). 

 

“Attending to your own business” would be the opposite of what a busybody would do, and such a busybody can cause plenty of suffering (1 Pet. 4:15).  This, then, is yet another way to avoid anger—quietly minding one’s own business instead of worrying about the affairs of others and things that do not concern oneself.

 

Uncontrolled anger can get a body into trouble, for sure.  Let us strive to make it a thing of the past and move on to happier things, in the vein of Philippians 4:8:

 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

 

As we think more on Philippians 4:8 and strive to apply 1 Corinthians 13:5 more specifically to our lives, we will find that we truly have less and less time for anger and rage.

 

And surely we won’t be “angry all the time.”