Riling Up The Joshster

It all started at 1:10 AM

Early this morning, a friend asked me an interesting question:

"What makes you angry?"

Well, I thought, "lots of things, let me make a list." So, I quickly listed four things that really irritate me. And I looked at that list and I was like, "yes, those all irritate me." Little did I realize that I had completely dodged the question.

Because anger goes much deeper than irritation, doesn't it? Some may ask of you:

"Why are you angry?"

The better question would be:

"What does this anger prompt you to do?"

Even Jesus Was Angry

In each gospel, Jesus enters the temple and he sees his father's house being completely disgraced. Jesus get's super ticked and does something that's pretty different from what we had seen Jesus do up until that point: he makes a huge point, by flipping tables and yelling at the leaders there.¹

Yeah, yeah, you've heard this story before, but have you really thought about it?

I'm in a production of Fiddler on the Roof right now, and there is a segment in which the Russians come in and disrupt a wedding ceremony and among other things, flip tables. It's a very emotional part of the story, and hearing that wood crash to the ground as they are flipped is humbling in a weird sort of way.

Now, imagine your picture of Jesus going about doing that. He's not having the sweetest of tones, he's mad. He walks up to a priest and says, "What are you doing?! You are a bunch of thieves in my father's home. How dare you?" He walks over and throws the table upside down. He uses his foot to kick another one. He's not just getting attention, he is making a point. And he righteously uses that anger to make that point.

My Response Was Nothing but a Quick Dodge

I'm just going to quote exactly my conversation:

"1 - When people don't hold a respect for the rules.

2 - People who hold others down, limiting their true potential in order to make a system easier to control.

3 - People who don't hold true to their word. (This bugs me more than it should, people change all the time)

4 - Seeing people who cannot defend themselves being hurt."

While all of these things may irritate me (quite a bit actually) I realize that I cannot blame troubles on those around me. I can place blame so easily. "It's all Larissa's fault", "it's all my parent's fault", "it's all God's fault."

Or just as bad...

"It's all my fault."

Each and every one of these is very, very destructive. Nothing has been solved thinking this way. I've only locked the feeling deep down inside of me and let it fester. And when something festers, when it comes out, it's not just a pure sadness, it's been mixed with anger, disappointment, and fear.

What Anger Has Caused Me to Do

Anger is nothing without a rein on it. Anger is self destructive until you turn that into your own tool with which you will do battle for the greater good. I'd say this, but I think that Aristotle says it more beautifully than I could:

"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."²

 I thought about each of these a lot more since then. I have specified where it wasn't before, and here is the updated list of things that make me angry.

1 - I am saddened when people do not respect authority and break rules

Thinking about this, I have decided that I have so much fun, but I need to work again on setting a good example at the appropriate times. I compromise far too often, and I do not want to continue down this road. Going forward, I will try my hardest to be an obedient follower.

2 - When people hold others down (limiting their true potential) in order to make a system easier to control, it gets under my skin.

Well, for one thing, I could stop doing it. Back when I first joined HYPE I started plugging people in where they would best be suited (I'll have to write a future post about that also) but eventually I started looking at people as their type and not them as a person. Once you get to that level, Myers Briggs is out the window, it's time to focus on the people, because they are so much more than percentages of 4 letters.

3 - People who don't hold true to their word frustrate me. (This bugs me more than it should...)

No, that doesn't bug me more than it should. That is such a good thing to be angered by. And you know what I can do? I can do two very great things:

•I can follow through. If I've said that I'll do something, I just need to push through and finish.

•I can watch my tongue very closely, so as to not make a promise I cannot keep.

Both of these things are so hard for me to do. So, so, so hard. But I can do it—but I do not plan on doing it by my strength alone.

4 - Seeing injustice done makes me very angry.

I can take a stand against injustice. If I see crap going down, I will come down hard on those who are dishing it out. I have been given the gift of influence, and I will use this for good. I hate seeing people hurt, and I hate it when bullies get away. If I have to fight against figurative bullies, if they walk away, it will be with a few figurative brusies. I refuse to stand by and watch my fellow man be hurt. I can't stop all injustice, but if I can put my foot down and protect some, I will.

In Conclusion
Yeah, I wish that things were different in a few different areas of my life, but I'm not going to let that hold me down. God has held my hand through this discovery, and I'm going to keep holding him close.



1: Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-17
2 Aristotle, BrainyQuotes [Source]