Our Bus of Self-preservation

I heard recently that anger has evolved into society’s default behaviour. From walking in the wrong direction in a grocery store aisle, standing too close to a person in a checkout line, or choosing to be vaccinated or not, anger has evolved from simply feeling annoyed to verbally attacking at will. With the unlimited freedom we have through social media and the endless information from the press and TV networks, it would appear we have been given free rein to aggressively speak our minds with little or no regard for accountability or even correctness. Sadly, the politeness and consideration that was once received from or extended to a stranger has disappeared. Now it seems that fear drives our bus of self-preservation and anger is the gas that propels us forward.

Granted, it is important to acknowledge that anger is not always wrong. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves, often called righteous indignation. It is an anger that does not involve self defense but is expressed in the defense of others or in the defense of a principle. Yet, even though it is acceptable to be righteously indignant under certain circumstances (such as finding abortion abhorrent), we are cautioned in Ephesians 4:26 to “be angry and sin not.”

But when does anger evolve from righteous indignation to sin?

“Anger becomes sin when it is allowed to boil over without restraint, resulting in a scenario in which hurt is multiplied, leaving devastation in its wake. Often, the consequences of out-of-control anger are irreparable. Anger also becomes sin when the angry one refuses to be pacified, holds a grudge, or keeps it all inside. This can cause depression and irritability over little things, which are often unrelated to the underlying problem.”*

Paul Ekman, an American psychologist and a pioneer in the study of emotions, states that at its most extreme, anger “can be one of the most dangerous emotions because of its potential connection to violence,” confirming the belief that given the right conditions, anger easily ignites aggression. And given the right conditions, our mouths become an avenue for that aggression. Additionally, with our world of technology and accessibility, anger makes our fingers work faster than our minds! And the result? Text messages and emails that can prove to be more damaging to the sender than the intended target! (The number of monthly texts sent has increased by more than 7,700% over the last decade.) Sadly, through such mediums uninhibited anger finds an outlet for caustic, vindictive, and malicious words, often seeking revenge or, at the least, attempting to shame a person for their actions. But it comes at a price. Instead of helping a person move on with his or her life, a vengeful, angry heart can leave a person physically and emotionally ill.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” With that thought in mind, perhaps we would do well to apply the same principle used by carpenters and seamstresses: measure twice, cut once. Maybe as a society we should think twice, speak once (if at all!). A carpenter or seamstress cannot un-cut his or her mistake; likewise, we cannot un-speak our words. Much like the wrong cut, once spoken or sent, our words can never be undone.

Perhaps society’s default behaviour needs to change from anger to love and respect.

Something to think about!

* https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-anger.html