Anger is an acid that eats up peace (both inner peace and peace in society). Anger paralyzes both reason and love, tricking people to act from impulse instead.

Anger is contagious. Don’t allow other people’s anger to make you angry. If we continually allow people to anger us, we soon become “angerous” — full of and controlled by anger.

It’s easy to falsely believe that our anger is 100% righteous and the other guy’s is 100% unrighteous. Anger is easy, but kindness, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness are tough! It’s amazing how so many people believe their anger is justified, but the anger of those who disagree with them isn’t.

The anger you feel is an alarm asking you, “How can I view this situation in a more loving way?” If someone questioning your anger makes you even more angry, perhaps your anger has taken you over.

Anger leads to resentment; resentment to hatred; hatred to mistreatment; mistreatment easily turns into violence. Anger would often prefer to sink the ship rather than share it.

However, we can dislike someone’s policies and behaviors without getting angry at them. You can disagree with kindness. Try it.

Christians are to be led by the Holy Spirit, not by anger. Anger isn’t the fruit of the Spirit — love, patience, and kindness are. When Christians let the Spirit lead them as ekklesia, then healing, repentance, and reconciliation begin to manifest.

The Bible says not to be angry after sunset. (That’s because if you let anger linger inside of you, it will grab hold of your heart and not let go.) Many Christians disobey that verse. (Ephesians 4:26) The Bible also says that love “casts out fear.” Don’t let anger cast out your love.

Even when you’re angry, there’s no need to be insulting and unkind. The Bible says that we should be “speaking the truth in love.” The early Christians had plenty of reasons to angrily insult Roman politicians, but they didn’t. Evil is not in just one political party. “There is none righteous, no not one.”

Happiness and “angriness” are conflicting emotions that are almost impossible to experience at the same moment. Take the “d” in “discernment” and attach it to “anger.” Then let it warn us of the danger in anger.