Breaking Things and Breaking Anger

In Hebrews chapter 12, we read God's warning against allowing bitterness to fester:
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled...

Anger is a destructive force, and long-term anger can lead to long-term spiritual, emotional, and even physical damage to us.  So, we can take the necessary steps to rid ourselves of this menace; incorporating, as I will refer to in The Meeting House, elements of prayer and God's Word, developing healthy responses to the stimuli in life that frustrate us.  God wants us to be whole and to respond Biblically to the challenges we encounter.

+++++

In James 1, we read about the destructive force of anger:
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

I came across a piece on the New York Times website recently about a new phenomenon called, "anger rooms."  This was not the first time that the Times had a story about these place where people can go and express their anger by slamming, breaking, and destroying property - all for a fee, of course.  Another story ran in 2016, before The Wrecking Club in Manhattan opened in March to give people a place to go to vent their rage; other "opportunities" include the Rage Room, based in Toronto and the older, Dallas-based Anger Room.

The website, Good Money, states:

Research on the psychological effects of this bizarre activity is scant — anger rooms exist more as a novelty than anything else — but the attraction and growing popularity seems to be governed more by a primal instinct (unsurprisingly) than a practical desire to decompress. However, that hasn’t stopped the Dallas outpost from headlining its homepage with “Relieve Stress & Anxiety.” This particular location has, according to the Times, seen three Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton mannequins “utterly destroyed.”

(The "Times" reference is to the New York Times.)

I don't generally delve into the realm of psychology, but it does seem there is evidence in that field that doesn't necessarily support this concept. Bernard Golden describes the Dallas experience in Psychology Today:

Customers are provided the necessary protective equipment such as a helmet, goggles and gloves and their “weapon” of choice–a bat, a pipe, golf clubs or any object that can exert destructive power. Employees as well as donations provide the objects. And, they offer a choice of music to listen to while engaging in this novel “sport."

But he says that, "Such an experience may provide immediate satisfaction. However, I strongly feel the need to voice my opposition to adding it to the menu of strategies for the constructive management of anger."  He adds:

Research, however, has ultimately concluded that repeatedly engaging in such activities might best be described as “rehearsal," thus making one more prone to engage in such activities.

There is a quote in the Good Money article from Ricks Warren, a psychologist and professor, not to be confused with pastor Rick Warren, who said in an interview with the University of Michigan:

“Initially, people probably do feel better after smashing things, and this may be because endorphins are released because it can be a good workout. But research shows that people get even more angry dealing with anger through aggression. There is an outdated Freudian catharsis model that has been promoted by therapists which encourages ‘getting it out.’ This model has been disproven repeatedly.”

The Biblical Counseling Coalition has a piece called The Angry Heart.  In it, you can read this:

The typical angry response comes from something you wanted and didn’t get, or you are angry about something you got and didn’t want, but in both cases, you have never dealt with the anger biblically.

Feelings of anger are generally (wrongly) handled in one of two ways: blowing up (screaming, ranting raving, hollering, hitting, breaking things, driving too fast or recklessly) or clamming up (quietly internalizing the emotions, seething). Those who clam up are more prone to depression.

The antidote to what is called, "sinful anger," is laid out in the article, which says, "The heart change begins when you acknowledge before God that you struggle with sinful anger; simply confessing it to God." This is followed up by renewing your mind "by studying what Scripture says regarding anger." It goes on to say:

If you are accustomed to blowing up when you’re angry, you must learn to enact new responses that will direct the energy of anger toward fixing the problem instead of using your anger to hurt people and objects.

If you typically clam up or bury your anger, you must begin to appropriately verbalize what has caused you to become angry and then take steps to correct the problem. At first you may find it difficult to respond appropriately to anger, but it will become easier as you grow in your understanding of the righteous responses to anger and as you continue to practice the right responses.

Wayne Mack and Julie Ganschow are credited in the article.

The Bible has the tools we need in order to deal with what is termed "sinful anger."  And, not surprisingly, these resources include prayer and the Word.  We live in a society that is all-too-often marked by anger, by unhealthy responses to what are perceived as "violations."  But, we have to make sure that we are dealing with these issues in an effective manner. God's Word shows us the way to neutralize the harmful effects of anger.