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In the
Night Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, I wonder
about the passage that says to let your anger “be without sin.”
Then it talks about wrath and not letting the devil work on you. What does
that all mean? I thought wrath was sin, so what is “anger without
sin”?
 he passage to which you refer is
found in Night Prayer for Wednesdays and it comes from Ephesians 4:26–27.
An adequate explanation of the passage depends not so much on theology
but on an understanding of the psychology of anger. Thus, to explain
the passage, we need to distinguish “anger” as a feeling of
irritation from genuine anger as a desire for
revenge.
“Anger”
as a Feeling
Whenever someone or something
obstructs you or hurts you in some way, you will experience an immediate
response. This response begins when your brain, perceiving a threat to your
safety or well-being—and completely outside your conscious
awareness—sends stress hormones surging through your body. Then, as
your conscious mind starts to process the situation, you will experience
some noticeable emotions, such as irritation and
frustration.[1]
Now, so far, this collection
of feelings is a self-defensive response to a perceived threat. It’s
a warning sign, as it were, that you are being threatened and need to protect
yourself. Traditionally, when someone feels this way, we will say that he
or she is feeling “angry.” But this is anger without sin because,
in psychological language, this is a feeling of irritation, not real
anger.[2]
Anger as a Desire
for Revenge
When you carry your feelings
of irritation a step beyond mere feelings and into the realm of
desire for revenge, you enter into
sin; that is, anger becomes sin when you actually
inflict hurt on someone in return for the hurt inflicted on you. This revenge
is an expression of hatred because it seeks the other’s harm
rather than the other’s good.
Note that revenge can be carried
out either as a calm, calculated act or as a impetuous, emotionally charged
act. Traditionally, this latter case has been called
“wrath.”
But either way—whether
calculated or impetuous or anywhere in between—this sort of anger is
sin.
The Devil’s
Work
Because revenge is an act of
hatred, it stands in opposition to love, and, in standing
in opposition to love, it stands opposed to God’s will. Notice here
that the devil fell from grace because he refused to do God’s will;
consequently, all desire for revenge opens the door to
demonic influence because all desire for revenge refuses
to do God’s will. Thus, to progress from anger as a feeling into
anger as a desire for revenge is to allow the devil to work in
you.
Resist Him, Solid
in Your Faith
In Night Prayer for Tuesdays
we are reminded, from 1 Peter 5:8–9a, that “the devil is prowling
like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Then we are told,
“Resist him, solid in your
faith.”
So what does this tell you about
how to prevent your anger from becoming sin? Well, the answer is simple:
to resist the desire for revenge is to remain solid in your faith by doing
only what Christ told us to do: bless your enemies rather than curse
them.[3]
Therefore, when others obstruct
you or hurt you, acknowledge the feelings of irritation that tell you that
you have been hurt, and then pray for the good of the offenders, rather than
seek revenge.
• |
If the injury was
accidental, endeavor to put yourself in the place of the other so
as see things from his view and to
forgive him. |
• |
If the injury was
intentional, pray for the other that he
will repent his sins, and then trust that
God will administer perfect justice in the
end. |
Notes
1. Here are some examples of similar emotions:
aggravated, annoyed, bothered, cross, displeased, distressed, exasperated,
frustrated, goaded, grumpy, impatient, offended, overwrought, peeved, provoked,
shaky, strained, tense, troubled, uncomfortable, upset, or vexed.
2. Is anger ever justifiable? Well, when anger
is really a feeling of irritation, then it is justifiable, because all irritation
is a feeling, and all feelings are justifiable. But anger “as a desire
for revenge” cannot be justifiable as a Christian act. Christ told us
to give a blessing to our enemies, not to get even with them. Moreover, Christ
never sought revenge on anyone, not even on those who mocked and killed
Him.
3. In practical terms, this takes four steps:
(a) notice that you feel irritated; (b) recognize the
fantasies of revenge going through your mind;
(c) admit that those fantasies are evil desires; and (d) reject those fantasies
by praying for the courage to be patient and forgiving—that is, to love,
rather than to hate.
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