ANGER EVIL AND DEADLY

ANGER

EVIL AND DEADLY

     Anger, for the wrong reason, can be extremely damaging and lead to disaster. When wrongly angered we become our brother’s accuser and, we damage him as well as our own souls. If we could see the hideous look of anger on our face, we would shrink from the ugliness of anger. The virtue of meekness stands in opposition to the vice of anger, and a meek person is always welcome anywhere. Unreasonable anger , as is well known, appears under the form of  “road rage”. Often it proves to be deadly and inflicting damage those who are  involved.  Truthfully there is nothing in this world worth being angry about, nor does unreasonable anger or rage solve a single problem, but creates a bad atmosphere which is fouled by its presence.

     Christ, who is risen, expressed the beauty of following Him: “Come all you that are heavily laden (with sins) and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and humble in my heart. And you shall find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat. 11:28-30)

 St. Nicolai Velimirovic

“Be angry but do not sin” (Psalm 4:4).

   Be angry with yourselves, brethren, and sin no more.  Be angry at your sins of thought and deed, and sin no more. Be angry with Satan, the father of lies, and no longer do his will. Be angry at the sin in the world and at the fouling of God’s holy Church by godless men, but beware of healing sin by sin.  Be angry with your friends when they sin, but let your anger be directed toward turning them back and not driving them into further evil. 

   The anger of a friend towards his friend, of a parent towards his child – and dare I say it?  Of God towards men, is not a storm that uproots trees, but a wind that makes a tree stronger, making the rotten fruit fall so that the good fruit may be even better and finer.  Control your anger, that it might heal and not poison.  To have this control, keep God before you in your anger.  Anger can have no stronger damn or lock than God.  All anger that is not in the name of God and His justice is sin. Do not be angry for nothing, but be angry at that at which God is angered. If your will is set firmly in God’s law, you will always be able to be angry when anger is needed, and to the measure to which it is needed. This cannot all be spelled out with words and explained to the ignorant. Anger in its place acts as mercy does.

     O my brethren, do you see how various powers are put into our souls, that man can use freely for life or death?  Anger with oneself can never be recommended strongly enough.  It is a marvelous fact that the more man learns to be angry with himself, the less he is angry with other, for, knowing his own weaknesses, he either does not look at others or, if he sees them, judges them gently.

     O Lord God, the only Just One, sow in us the remembrance of the day of your just anger, that we may keep ourselves from sin in our souls. To you be glory and praise forever. Amen.

                                                                   (Prologue Vol.4  P20)