Why do we really get angry? If we push passed the circumstances, we’ll find the true reason we get angry is because we feel like our rights have been violated. We should be treated better. We deserve more. Our anger stems from a deep held sense of entitlement that, when crossed, make us really, really mad.
What makes you really, really mad? Maybe it’s a small thing, but for whatever the reason, it pushes your buttons. It might be what happens to you on your daily commute; it could be when someone fails to show you respect; maybe it’s a certain trait in someone else that you just can’t stand. Whatever the case, all of us know what it’s like to be angry.
But there’s something revealing about the way we ask the question: What makes you angry? In the question itself, we are assuming that something has the power to make us feel anger. If that’s the case, we let ourselves off the hook; after all, we can’t control something being done to us. So anger can’t be our fault, and it can’t then be something we have to seriously think about and deal with.
Right?
Not according to Jesus:
You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.
