Why Anger?

Earlier today, I received a writing prompt that asked, "What really makes you angry about the world?"  Having recently returned from a successful and fulfilling day at work and reveled in the beauty of the weather, I felt myself to be at peace with the world.  So the first question on my mind was, "Why anger?"

Is anger supposed to be the emotion that first moves us or the one that moves us the farthest?  Why not love (of which I have already written quite enough for a long time)?  Or joy?  Or beauty?  Or peace?  Considering our sinful human nature, I have no doubt that anger is one of the hottest passions in our souls.  Occasionally, that anger might even be right and productive if it is carefully directed and controlled (John 2:14-17 ESV).  But the Scriptures urge us to temper our passions rather than feeding them.  "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city" (Prov. 16:32)

There is a reason that we are directed to temperance.  Oftentimes, our anger is not the pure sort directed against evil or injustice for the sake of others' good.  My own anger frequently results from hurt.  That might also be a productive sort of anger if it were directed toward removing the cause for the would, sometimes merely by stating my hurt.  Yet is is also in those times that we can choose to hide our hurt from others by cloaking it in anger or even try to remove the supposed "cause" of our wounding by locking others out of our hearts and lives.  Often I choose this route only because I have no idea how to communicate my hurt effectively.

And so I will finally answer the question above.  Nothing can make me angry at the world.  Sometimes, I choose anger at particular circumstances where wrong has been committed if I hope to effect a change.  Other times, I choose anger in order to hide my own weakness or pain.  But here is how I find peace: by giving my pain and anger and guilt to the only one who really does really know what to do with it.  God.