Do You Have an Anger Problem?
It’s not just the title of this post. It’s a question worth asking yourself. Do you have an anger problem? I recently ran across a helpful post on the CCEF blog, written by Ed Welch, on the topic of anger. In it, Welch provides seven questions that we should ask ourselves as we attempt to answer the question above.
Think you don’t have an anger problem? This post is written especially for you.
Keenly aware of the fact that you have an anger problem? This post will be helpful for you as well.
I certainly wouldn’t claim to be blameless in the anger department. That said, I’ve found these questions to be helpful in a number of ways. First, I’ve realized that I may have underestimated the depth and extent of my anger problem. Second, it has helped me in my effort to discover the “sin beneath the sin” and identify the root issue under my sinful anger. Finally, it has helped me to invite my wife to be a part of this process and to understand the ways my sin may have impacted her.
Here are a few of Welch’s questions:
- Do you stretch and enlarge the category of anger so it includes you? I know a man who doesn’t think he is angry even though every hour or so he threatens to rip off someone’s head. His narrow definition of anger? An angry person actually rips off someone’s head. Since he only wants to rip off someone’s head, he isn’t angry.
- Have you enlarged the spectrum of your anger by filling in some of the details from the Sermon on the Mount? (Matthew 5:21-22) For example, at one extreme is murder, at the other is our internal muttering, “what a jerk.” What’s in between? Of course, everything on this spectrum is murderous.
- In the last six months have you confessed your sin of anger, to both God and the injured person?
Read the entire post and the rest of the his questions HERE.