Cogges Parish newsletter March 2002

From the newsletter ...

Righteous Anger - me or thee?

Some of us have a bit of a temper. As my family and friends will testify, over the years I have mellowed and learned to count to 10. Though I must admit there are still the very rare occasions when I cannot get beyond two before exploding.

Christians recognise that being angry is part of being human. Even Jesus was prone to indignation: In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. John 2:14-15

Now before you put this newsletter down in the belief that it is your Christian duty to get physical when exercised by others, please note the motivation of Jesus. What was it that drove the meek and mild Son of God to such apoplexy? We read in v 16: To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

You see Jesus was not incensed by some affront to his own dignity eg how dare you treat ME like that. No, what really upset him was: how dare you treat MY FATHER like that.

There are some very bad reasons to get annoyed usually associated with pride and a jealous defence of self against others who do not have the vision or insight to recognise you for the wonderful genius you are. Why don't friends and loved ones appreciate how lucky they are to have you around! It makes us so angry. A word of caution, getting angry about perceived slights to self is almost always wrong.

But there is a very good reason why anger is a God given part of human nature. There are times when we are supposed to get really worked up and exercised. It is about slights to others. No let me put it stronger than that. Anger is a natural response to injustice.

What is your response to wrong: indifference or indignation? A specific example will do. As I write our Prime Minister is just back from a trip to Africa. That continent creates 1% of the world's wealth but hosts 10% of the globe's population. Living standards are falling year-by-year and hundreds of millions of our fellow human beings are living on less than $1 a day - the price of a can of coca cola. Tony Blair has described the current state of poverty in Africa as "a scar on our consciences".

The reasons for this deepening poverty are complex - as are the reasons to explain why obesity is now a major problem facing the developed world. We in the West live in a world where 1 in 4 are clinically overweight while 1,000,000,000 people in the developing world live on less than 65p a day.

So what gets you angry: slights against self or the plight of the world's poor? Interesting question. I once asked a student if they were concerned about inequality and so many living in absolute poverty. Their response: no, I am not one of them. And they were not joking.

This is the season of Lent. What have you and I given up - some non-essential like chocolate? Instead why not give up something trivial and take up something righteous. I suggest we all abandon temper at pricked pride and take up righteous anger on behalf of others. Rather than how dare you treat ME like that, let's substitute how dare you treat God the fathers' children like that. And do not count much beyond 2 before acting.

Richard Young

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