Anger: Action or Reaction?

As much as we think we are taking action when we get angry at something we really aren't. If you think about it, anger is not an action it's a reaction. It's not an action but the dead end to stupid street.

Too often we lose our temper and get mad at something then blame the object for "making us mad." Nothing can make us mad. It's a choice we make. We choose to get mad at the kid at school. We choose to get mad at our parents. We choose to get mad at our siblings. When all these situations lead us to anger we become angry and react in a non-productive way. That in turn leads us down the road to stupid street and poor choices as we do something we shouldn't.

Believe it or not anger can be a good thing when it is an action that leads us to a positive outcome. We get angry with cancer so we fight against it to find a cure. We get angry at the way our government works so we run for office and work at changing things. We get angry at world hunger so we give our money and time to try and stop it. All of these things leading us in the right direction.

Even God in the Bible recognizes the fact that we will and do get angry. He just reminds us to stay off stupid street and do not sin in your anger, don't let the sun go down on your anger, and don't let anger control you, you control your anger. If we don't handle it properly yes we find ourselves stuck in the dead end of stupid street.

Oh you don't like the fact that I keep calling angry people names. Well it's true and I am one of those people who have and still do, walk the darken path of stupid street. Looking at stupid as an adverb it means to act in an unintelligent and careless manner. To give in to unreasoned thinking or acting. Therefore, as long as we allow anger to be a reaction it will never be an action. So don't think you are taking some kind of action against something when all you are doing is reacting. It's better to use anger as an action to drive you to make something better, as an energy to make a difference and a choice to change things instead of a reaction of striking back, hurting others, and seeking revenge. The choice is ours, no one else can make us put the 're' on to action changing what should have been an action instead of a reaction.

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