It is a dangerous time in America. We are united, not by our liberty, opportunities, happiness and sense of justice for ALL, but by our anger and outrage that such bedrock, foundational principles are just not so for every citizen of this nation.
More on this matter of anger and outrage just a bit later in this blog.
While this is not a new discovery, the images of this tragic truth cannot be denied by anyone. The systematic ways in which the racial discrepancies in this nation’s values exist have never been so graphically recorded and then broadcast in such unrelenting manner. A knee of a white man on the neck of a handcuffed, black man not only shows the crime of the suffocation of life out of George Floyd, but exposes the white knee of privilege that has been on the neck of African-American people in this country for over 400 years.
Can there be ANYTHING more obvious to us now – amidst global pandemic, outrage over systemic, racial injustice and the centuries of the social distancing of segregation – that as Martin Luther King observed, we will either learn to live together as sisters and brothers or die together as fools?
Such an observation is being made from so many viewpoints and voices each and every day. I add only this:
OUR HOPE FOR CHANGE IS ROOTED IN A FAITH PERSPECTIVE ON ANGER.
One of the great insights of the biblical witness shared by Jews and Christians is the importance of righteous anger. Expressions of anger, and even outrage, are particularly important aspects of human life. Such strong emotions illustrate great wrongs. Such emotions motivate us to address the wrong not only by aspiring higher, but also by putting in place social “norms” that insure justice for all people.
The biblical witness also affirms the central control and direction for righteous anger. Anger cannot be permitted to lead us into sin. What does this mean? Anger cannot be allowed to get out of control and result in breaking the Commandments; any of them! But certainly murder, stealing, bearing false witness and justifying covetous behavior come to mind as we observe looters in their attempts to hijack legitimate protest.
The Gospel record of the life of Jesus is very clear. JESUS GOT ANGRY. The record shows that Jesus would become angry over three things:
- Hypocrisy (Matthew 23:1-4).
- Belligerent Misunderstanding (John 11).
- Corruption in Religious and Political Leadership (Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, and Luke 19:45-48).
These are only several citations of examples where Jesus not only got angry but acted on his angry emotions WITHIN THE PARAMETER OF NOT PERMITTING HIS ANGER TO LEAD TO SIN as described above.
WE NEED TO BE LIKE JESUS!