I have found during my life that anger grants me an empowering energy which energizes and motivates me far more than almost anything else does. This happens despite many false beliefs about anger that circulate among assumptive minds. Often a conversation or event will stir me to have the desire to write a blog post about a particular issue, and that is the case this time, as yesterday I experienced strong anger over a situation and began reflecting on the fact that anger does grant me a definite mental power.
A potential danger of anger is that the empowering effect of anger can lead to overlooking the possible consequences of an act or trying to justify a sinful reaction to oneself. Anger is not inherently destructive--it is inherently powerful, and some people happen to channel their anger into destructive actions. The distinction is important. "Powerful" does not equate to "destructive", only the capacity for possible destructiveness.
Myths about anger include the belief that anger solves nothing and that anger is sinful according to the Bible. Anger does not solve "nothing", as it can, at the very least, release frustration, provide deep empowerment, and even motivate a desire for justice (though feelings do not dictate or reveal morality in any way, so care must be exercised here). Any of the three does indeed accomplish something. And anger is not sinful by Christian standards. I already addressed this elsewhere [1]; anger is not itself sinful (Psalm 4:4), God gets angry (Exodus 22:22-24), and we are commanded to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1), which would include an imitation of his anger.
I want to draw attention yet again to the fact that anger truly can empower. Allow me to explain examples from my own life. When I find myself observing things like logical fallacies or inconsistencies, I experience surges of anger that, combined with my already very intense personality, enable me to have great verbal ferocity when it is needed to tear down fallacious arguments and intellectually deficient worldview conclusions. Anger helps motivate me to seek out and confront users of fallacies. It generates and sustains in me a deeper desire to call out the bullshit that most people seem to believe, especially when their claims involve misrepresentations of my own worldview. A ferocious, vehement demon awakes in me in some such scenarios (I mean demon in a metaphorical sense)! Sometimes people object to my anger, yet they have nothing by which to condemn my displays of anger over illogicality except fallacious appeals to emotion, popularity, and sometimes erroneous interpretations of Scripture.
Is anger sinful according to the Bible? No. Does the presence of anger alone mean that an angry person will think and act in an irrational, impulsive manner? No. Is anger synonymous with malice? No. Does anger accomplish anything? Yes, even if just personal catharsis. Can anger lend a strength otherwise missing from normal experience? Yes. Does anger empower? Hell yes! None of the arguments against anger itself hold true.
Let reason rule, and not anger, and one will not have to suppress anger in order to maintain a sound mind--and a sound mind is not a calm one, but a rational one. Calmness does not indicate rationality and vice versa. Anger in itself is not a sinful, poisonous, helplessly destructive thing; it empowers, motivates, strengthens, and focuses. Mastered by reason, but even without the guidance of reason, it remains a very mighty force indeed.
Summary of observations:
1. Anger is powerful, but not inherently malevolent or destructive.
2. Anger does accomplish something, even if only the release of emotions.
3. Anger can be a very empowering impulse or emotion.
[1]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-morality-of-anger.html
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