Where Anger Comes To Rest

There are times when we speak plainly and still say more than we mean. Not because we don’t understand our words, but because our words reveal something deeper about us.

Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. He also warned that contempt is never harmless. To dismiss another person, to hold them in hatred, is already a kind of violence of the heart.

Take an issue like abortion. One person is convinced they are defending the life of the unborn. Another is convinced they are defending the woman’s life. In both cases, there is often real concern, and with it, real anger. That kind of anger is not wrong. It can be a sign that something matters deeply.

What matters is where that anger leads.

Anger looks for a place to land. When it hardens, it often settles into distance—I won’t listen to you. I won’t associate with you. Over time, that distance becomes contempt, and contempt quietly suggests that someone is no longer worthy.

Here is the trouble: in standing up for one life, we disregard another. We say we value life—and we do—but our behavior reveals how quickly we begin to choose which lives have dignity.

Perhaps our words reveal stories we never meant to tell.

I say this to myself more often than I care to admit. Are we angry? Yes. Is that always wrong? No. The harder question is what we do next.

Can our anger ever justify stripping someone of dignity? The value of a human life is not ours to give or take away. Even those who have done great harm bear a dignity that must be handled with justice and entrusted to God-given authority.

Consider this as you read Matthew 5:21–26.

Bless you, 

Pastor