Anger
“Anger is a stone cast into a wasp’s nest.” ~ St. Pope Paul VI
Anger, even what some might call “justifiable anger”, is dangerous business. It activates some of the most deep-seated emotions and it tempts people to react impulsively. Anger often fosters the holding of grudges and even taps into already held grudges thus making a rational discussion with another person improbable.
I think if you took a poll among others, the vast majority would respond that anger is something that is turned outward and often with violent consequences. That would be wrong. Anger is most often turned inward where it can draw from a person in inappropriate ways. Anger is one of those emotions that fogs our heart and intellect and leads to poor decisions.
Pope Paul’s metaphor of anger being a stone cast into a wasp’s nest is vividly real. There is never any good casting a stone — or any material, for that matter — into a wasp’s nest. The only thing that will happen is that the wasp’s will swarm and the stinging will begin.
Anger does the same to us. That stone, if you will, gets tossed into our hearts and our psyches, and we can feel the rage swarm. When we are in that state, someone’s going to get stung. Sometimes, the person stung is ourselves. I say that because one of the classic definitions of clinical depression is anger turned inwards. So either way, whether action from anger is turned out or turned in, someone’s going to be a victim.
Don’t allow that to happen. Don’t become a victim. Don’t victimize others. Instead, do your best to cast aside anger and take on the mantel of God’s love. You, and others will around you, will be happy that you did.
FAITH ACTION: Turn your anger over to God and ask Him to replace it with His love.