Anger is a gift?
Reflections from rush-hour traffic
Early this morning I drove out to the “fancy” Target (IYKYK) about 10 miles from my house. It was a peaceful and meditative drive that early in the morning. The store was empty and my errands were completed quickly. On the way back, rush-hour traffic turned a 17 minute drive into almost an hour. I decided to take a street route back home rather than the highway. As I was waiting at a red light, I looked at the F-150 truck next to me and noticed a decal on the back window: “Anger is a gift.” For the rest of the long drive home, I reflected on the necessity or usefulness of anger.
The Christian scriptures tell us to “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). This verse is not an indictment of anger but rather of the potential negative social effects of the emotion. Of course, a single verse of Christian scripture doesn’t tell us the larger context. So what does the chapter tell us? Let’s look at it:
4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
This entire chapter is a training guide for Christian living. It commands Christians to recall the foundational requirements of their faith in the opening: “One lord, one faith, one baptism.” In remembering those requirements, it provides a model for how to live them out: “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” This all sounds like a life of gentleness. Where does anger fit in?
The author (not Paul, ya’ll) of this text draws on the authority of Jesus to offer more guidelines. They start out, “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus” and then give a list of best Christian life practices. This list is simple (in theory but not in practice!) and communal. Don’t lie. Speak plainly with neighbors (sound advice). Don’t steal. Help people find employment. Be tenderhearted. Forgive. Again, all of this sounds lovely and peaceful. So what about anger?
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Five verses later comes the rest of the commentary regarding anger. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” Malice. Malice is the action that intends a bad outcome from the emotion of anger. along with malice comes the embodied practice of evil speaking. Bitterness. When anger is left as an unresolved emotion it easily turns to bitterness or an internal rot that will eventually result in negative external actions, including wrath—a vengeful, extreme type of anger. So the author of the text gives the practical advice of “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Don’t hold on to anger or hold it in. So what do with the anger?
Anger is simply an emotion of displeasure--even annoyance. Is it a gift? In 2018, Mark Oshiro, an award-winning YA author published Anger is a Gift. This book centers on student of color, Moss, who lost his father to police brutality in Oakland. Moss and other students in his school are harassed and threatened by law enforcement. They are frustrated, anxious, fearful, and then angry. The book traces out beautifully how anger can be a catalyst not for violence but for transformation. It can help mobilize us to do the right thing, even when it is difficult. It can call us to do good, fueling positive external actions that uplift one another, seek peace, resist injustice, and activate ourselves for a better life. A life of care, community, and (hopefully) peace.
Perhaps it is this understanding of anger that the author Ephesians is offering us too, with their guidebook of how to live out the Christian life. At the beginning of the chapter the author exhorts Christians to “speak the truth in love.” Visceral and raw anger encased in love for truth and the clarity to speak plainly to each other might be what the author means when they say “be angry and sin not,” for it allows for edification of each other and the communities we take part in. Maybe anger is a gift.