The remarkable chairman of the Chrysler Corporation, Lee Iacocca, when addressing the graduating class at the University of Michigan, as reported in Time, June 20, 1983, said, among other things:

I want you to get mad about the current state of affairs. I want you to get so mad that you kick your elders in their figurative posteriors and move America off dead center. Our nation was born when 56 patriots got mad enough to sign the Declaration of Independence. We put a man on the moon because Sputnik made us mad at being No. 2 in space. Getting mad in a constructive way is good for the soul—and the country.

Because all their needs were met, they experienced no frustration or injustice; thus, there was no anger.

The main goal of our flesh is to preserve itself, protect itself, and provide for itself; thus, it is extremely selfish. Our flesh is self-protective, self-reliant, self-promoting, and self-serving. The flesh is continually on the lookout for the threat of angry conflict with others. Why would our flesh be on the lookout for the threat of angry conflict of others? It is because you have one self-protective, self-reliant, self-promoting, and self-serving individual encountering others of the same sort. Angry conflicts are unavoidable in this setting.

ANGER ON A RAMPAGE

Topics: Anger; Enemies; Fighting; Grudges; Jealousy; Revenge; Self-control; Temper; Violence

References: Genesis 37:3–4; 1 Samuel 18; Proverbs 14:30; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:26; 1 Peter 2:1

A guard dog ransacked a teddy bear museum in western England in the summer of 2006. Barney, a Doberman pinscher, went berserk, shredding about a hundred of the bears on display. Worst of all, Barney destroyed Mabel, Elvis Presley’s teddy bear.

Mabel belonged to an English aristocrat, Benjamin Slade, who lived close to the museum. He had reportedly paid $75,000 for the bear at a Memphis auction, then loaned it to Wookey Hall Caves, the teddy bear museum. The museum’s general manager, Daniel Medley, said, “I had a very embarrassing phone call with the owner. He’s not very happy at all.”

Barney’s handler, Greg West, speculated that the dog went crazy because of a “rogue scent.” Or it could have been pure jealousy. “I was stroking Mabel and saying what a nice little bear she was,” West said.

West spent several minutes chasing Barney before he could wrestle him to the ground and end the carnage. Photos of the dog after he had been quieted show him sitting on his haunches and looking contrite. No dogs are allowed now at Wookey Hall Caves.

What are the triggers that send us into a rampage? What releases our anger and desire for revenge? Is it jealousy over the strokes that someone else got? More important, whom do we damage when we lose control? More than likely, it’s something more valuable than a teddy bear.

When I am trying to get my own needs met doing things my way, and you stand in my way, my fleshly defense mechanism and coping skills that I have developed from the past will tell me to become threatening and angry so that I may get my way.

Now that we are new creatures in Christ, why do we still feel and think much the same way as we did prior to our salvation? Why do I still struggle with my bitterness, unforgiveness, selfishness, and angry attitude?

The answer is quite clear. All of the defense mechanisms and all of the coping skills that we learned from our past lives and past experiences are still a part of our mind. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, God does not wipe our minds clear, but He commands us to renew our minds

With all of this transpiring in our lives, the Holy Spirit will manifest those ungodly defense mechanisms and coping skills. The Holy Spirit will expose the anger that lives deep within us. What we once considered a normal part of life, God has now exposed it for what it is and that is sin. The Holy Spirit will not stop there. He will empower us to confess and forsake those sins, so that He might live through us.

HEALING FROM ANGER

Topics: Anger; Attitudes; Death; Healing; Illness; Miracles; Peace; Prayer;

References: James 1:20; 5:13–16

When Tony Campolo was in a church in Oregon, he prayed for a man who had cancer. In the middle of the week, he received a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, “You prayed for my husband. He had cancer.” I said, “Had?” Whoa, he thought, it’s happened.

She said, “He died.” Campolo felt terrible.

“Don’t feel bad,” the woman said. “When he came into church that Sunday, he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was fifty-eight years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up.

“He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew toward God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.

“After you prayed for him, a peace came over him and a joy came into him. The last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We’ve prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.”

Then she said something incredibly profound: “He wasn’t cured, but he was healed.”