Prov and temper
Seneca wrote three books on anger, and yet Macaulay doubted
whether all his philosophy ever kept anyone from being angry. Solomon only wrote
a few wise sayings, but many have learned from him. "He that is soon angry
dealeth foolishly" (Pro 14:17). "He that is slow to wrath is of great
understanding" (Pro 14:29). "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city..." (Pro
16:32).
This reference to the strength of the man who can rule his own
spirit goes to the root of the matter. All men have bad tempers, but some are
wise and strong enough to exercise control.
It is natural for men to be selfish and to be angry if their
interests are menaced. It is natural for them to resent any slight to their
dignity or criticism of their work. Wherever we can observe human nature in the
raw there are many scenes of ill-temper, bearing a humiliating resemblance to
the quarrels of wild animals. The anger caused by selfish disputes is manifest
all through Nature. With due respect to Dr. Watts, we have to recognize that
even "birds in their little nests" do not always "agree". It has to be admitted,
however, that birds and beasts may often give us lessons. Man, with all his
power of understanding, and with all the lessons that he has received, is the
worst offender. His selfishness is greater than that of any beast, going far
beyond the needs of the moment. His anger is more cruel and longer sustained.
Often it is fostered and encouraged as in time of war. And in his search for
weapons to slay those who have roused his wrath, man is immeasurably worse than
any of the lower creatures could possibly be.
When men have been unrestrained either by fear of their
fellows or by any remonstrance of conscience in their own breasts, they have
proceeded to terrible extremes of cruelty in the expression of their anger. The
wrath of an autocratic king is proverbially terrible. In ordinary life men are
restrained by fear. Anger cannot find its natural expression for fear of
reprisals which might come from an angry enemy or from the majesty of the law.
Nations and individuals are often "willing to wound but afraid to strike." They
are curbed by the dread of a conflict the end of which they cannot foresee but
which will be certain to bring much pain and evil. In less serious issues angry
words are often restrained by the fear of ridicule. Anger will often make men
foolish and there are always cruel opponents ready to laugh. Protected by the
law they find pleasure in goading the victim to further expressions of impotent
rage. Sometimes they go too far and the angry one, casting off all restraint and
blind to consequences, gives full vent to his rage. There have been tragedies
caused by such cruel and foolish feeding of a foolish anger.
Men who are well instructed either in Christian principles or
in a purely worldly wisdom, restrain their anger in its expression of both deed
and word. They recognize and possibly envy the power of the man who can keep
cool. When provoked, they try with more or less success to conceal any warmth of
resentment that they may feel. Is Christian principle he basis, or is it merely
a worldly wisdom? Is anger really restrained or is it merely transmuted into a
cold and deadly bitterness, possibly worse than the original passion? Anger can
take many forms and find many different ways of expression. It may be a hasty
ebullition quickly evaporating, and, if circumstances are favourable, leaving no
bitterness behind. Sometimes after such an explosion men are better friends for
having quarrelled. There is grave danger in this quick boiling of anger,
however. It is so easy for something to be done or said, the effects of which
will linger all through life. Lives have been lost and lives have been ruined
through only a few moments of unrestrained anger. Words hastily uttered and
meaning little more than an expression of momentary annoyance, may have enduring
effects with such complex action and reaction that no one could possibly trace
their course or even guess the sum of the evil wrought. A man of hasty temper
may soon forget the words that gave relief to his angry feelings. He might be
appalled if he could know the full effect of his momentary loss of control. One
who is naturally of quick temper and hasty speech may well take to heart the
Spirit's warning. Let him learn to be "slow to wrath", to rule his spirit and to
guard the door of his mouth.
Anger is not properly controlled when a man is cool in the
pursuit of revenge. It has become more evil, for instead of being merely a
matter of feeling, it has engaged the intellect and the will, so that such a man
can act a part with skill and subtlety. It is still anger, by reason made more
deadly. We have scriptural authority for this judgment, for Jacob so described
the cold craftiness of two of his sons, "Cursed be their anger, for it was
fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel."
So in less serious issues, in which words are the only
weapons, a man may congratulate himself on having controlled his anger when he
is only finding a more satisfying way of relieving his feelings. He thinks of
something cruel to say and he chooses the manner of speech which will make it
sting most. So he is cool and collected, not because he has properly ruled his
spirit, but because worldly wisdom has taught him a more effective way of
striking a blow. There is as much feeling of angry resentment behind that icy
bitterness of speech as was ever revealed by hot and hasty words. The ill
feeling is as strong and it lasts much longer.
Anger is properly controlled and the spirit wisely ruled when
a man is not only cool and reasonable, but when he is able to take the right
course despite any dictates of outraged feeling. There is such a thing as
righteous anger just as there is such a thing as "perfect hatred". It is
possible as the apostle suggests to be angry and not to sin. One who rules his
spirit and controls his anger will be able to take the right course. When his
anger is roused he will not only remember the power of cool and collected
thoughts but he will remember Christ. If reproof or protest is needed he will
give it, if the situation calls for a gentle answer he will find it. If the
subject is one in which "silence is golden", he will "guard the door of his
mouth", even if he has thought of a most witty and crushing answer. This is a
testing point for many. It is just when we are cool and collected that we think
of the scathing answer that would make an opponent writhe. Will it do good to
let him have it? Or is it just one of those barbed sayings that can do no
possible good, only serving to relieve the feelings of the one who speaks, and
amuse careless hearers? If it is in this category it is far better suppressed,
for scathing words are never without effect. If they do no good they always do
harm.
There is much cause for righteous anger in the world: the
travesties and misrepresentations of religion, the hypocrisy of politics, the
perversions of justice, and the abomination of modern warfare. Cruelty and
injustice often go hand in hand with professions of kindness and mercy; an
affectation of extreme righteousness is often used as a cloak to cover
dishonesty. There are still men who try to thwart good work while parading their
excessive piety, whether in zeal for the Sabbath as in the first century, or in
some more modern way. Yet these evils do not often excite a righteous anger.
When we find an angry man he is not often protesting against the prevalent
perversions of divine law. Far more frequently it is a matter of personal
interests or personal feeling. The anger of worldly greed and pride is manifest
every day while righteous anger is a rarity. It is not quite unknown, however.
Brethren have sometimes been stirred up by flagrant perversions of truth and
have done some of their best work in a spirit of righteous anger. How good it
would be if this was the only kind of anger ever known among us.
Unfortunately there has often been unrighteous anger even in
the work of the Truth. A little disagreement and a little contradiction, and
anger is soon manifested whether naked and unashamed, or whether clad in a few
tawdry rags of alleged principle. Sometimes it is a quick ebullition, disturbing
and painful, but soon over. Sometimes it is an anger transmuted into the cold
bitterness of a lasting enmity such as the hatred the Jews bore to their nearest
neighbours. It is possible that the final verdict on such ill feeling will be
similar to that of the dying patriarch on his two sons. "Cursed be their anger,
for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel."
