A Letter from the Bishop

Gallup polls reveal that anger is on the increase. Global surveys suggest that up to 22% of people in the world today “feel anger a lot”. This is an increase of almost 10% from the previous decade. Road rage incidents are on the increase and flight attendants, health care staff and hospitality workers are experiencing more abuse than ever before. Some are calling this the age of rage. Populist politicians play on people’s fears and resentments, normalising hatred and rage. A sobering cartoon depicts a campaigner seeking followers by espousing love and compassion, but few are attracted. Another leader is saying “Vote for me, I hate all the people you hate!”. This campaigner has attracted a large crowd of followers. The media compound the problem, offering us angertainment by focusing on the controversial extremists. It’s all very disturbing.

There is a story about two dogs entering the same room but at different times. One comes out wagging its tail and the other comes out growling. Watching this, a woman wonders what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so angry? She finds that the room is filled with mirrors. The happy dog found a hundred happy dogs looking back at him, while the angry dog had seen only angry dogs.

At one level, anger is an attitude that we can choose or not choose. The author of Proverbs warns of the dangers of anger: Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly (Prov 14:29). Witnessing injustice and oppression should make us angry, as it did Jesus (Mark 11:15). Yet it is God’s nature to be slow to anger, preferring mercy and grace: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ps 145:8).

If we behave in angry ways it can be deeply harmful to those around us, but it can also be destructive for us. Is our anger going to help the situation that we are angry about? Probably not, and it’s unlikely to bring glory to God either. A solution can be to do something concrete, however modest, to improve the situation that we are angry about. What can set Christians apart in the age of rage is to consciously choose against anger and for God’s way of mercy and grace. For me, gratitude is part of the solution. Like the happy dog in the mirrored room, gratitude can be infectious and offer God’s light and hope to those around us, quietly challenging negativity and dissatisfaction. As the author of Colossians (3:16) wrote: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.