Apr. 2013 Summer 2014 | Page 21

The Fiery Anger Darts of Inward E By Lisa Carter very single person in this world is in pursuit of happiness. Some feel satisfied at this station in life and therefore believe they have attained it, others are motivated to gain symbols of success thinking that will make them happy. Nevertheless, there is not a person living who does not want to be happy. There is a song that topped the charts at number one by an artist named Pharrell Williams. His song “Happy” is heard all over radio stations and on TV. But what if the song was entitled “Angry” and the words went something like this instead: (Because I’m angry) Come along if you feel like you’re about to hit the roof (Because I’m angry) Come along if you feel like you don’t know what to do You get the picture. Would the song be a hit? Of course not. Why? Because everyone likes a song that talks about something they want, something they need. No one wants to hear about being in an undesirable state of mind – being angry. There are many people in our culture living in that undesirable state. What’s even worse, they are often completely unaware of it. The reason they are unaware is because the anger is hidden, suppressed. This kind of anger is of the most dangerous kind. Everyone gets angry at times, and that’s okay. Jesus didn’t say never get angry. In fact, He gave us permission to “be angry.” Yet He said “sin not.” This tells me I have a choice. It is possible that I can get angry, even very angry. I just have to choose how I handle it. I can find constructive ways to express myself without wounding others with my actions or my words. I have a choice. We need not feel defeated