I have written before about how in our current culture we as human beings seem to be addicted to safety, and also to control. However, another addiction has been growing in strength over the past decade.
It’s an addiction to outrage.
We might rant on social media about situations or people who we find annoying or aggravating. When someone wrongs us, we might take a “the people need to know!” mentality that fuels our desire for revenge, even if it only manifests in badmouthing someone. The sparks of rage fly easily, and we begin to complain about anyone, and everyone.
Our ability to interact with people who hold different beliefs begins to slip away. We no longer cherish people’s differences, but only the ways that they are the same as us. We tiptoe around potential differences, not wanting to know that they exist. If, despite our best efforts, we find something we disagree with, our entire friendship might end up crumbling.
I once to came across a rather insightful comment on this subject in a fictional book by Alexander McCall Smith.
Angus smiled. The moral energy, the disapproval, that had fuelled Scotland's earlier bouts of over-enthusiastic religious intolerance were still with us, as they were with any society. It wore a different cloth, he thought, and was present now in the desire to prevent people from doing anything risky or thinking unapproved thoughts. "Oh yes," he muttered, "they're still with us, and they're still ready to carry out the burning of witches, even if we don't call them witches any more. All that moral outrage, that self-righteousness, that urge to lecture and disapprove—it's all still there." [1]
We each have our own brand of “unapproved thoughts“. These might be defined by our political affiliations, or religious affiliations, the things our friends think, or something else. With the effects of the pandemic, it doesn’t seem to matter if we’re on the left, right, or centre of the spectrum on the issue of the day. We are all too eager to point our firehoses of outrage at whoever does not side with us.
But the reality is that witch burning has no place in the Christian life. We are called to a life of loving our neighbour as ourselves [2], of loving our enemies [3], of laying down our lives to follow Jesus, wherever he might lead [4].
The Bible says:
“Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.” [5]
We are wise if we take heed of these words. Outrage obscures our ability to enjoy and appreciate the people around us. It wipes out our ability to find things that we might be grateful for even in bad situations. It is self-centred, ignores the greater plans of God, and elevates our own importance to ridiculous levels.
But we should be careful. People are watching. More is on the line than if someone cheated or defrauded me. More is on the line than if someone cut me off in traffic, or spread a rumour about me. People are watching, and many of them are not Christians. Our behaviour will speak volumes to them about the love of the God we say we follow.
At its core, outrage is a thief of joy. Principal Rainy once said that joy is the banner that flies over the castle, declaring that the king is there. [6] If we instead choose to fly outrage as our banner, this seriously harms our witness. (We may sometimes doubt this, but then again someone I know was recently commended by a Facebook friend for never going on a rant. The commender isn’t a Christian. He was watching.)
Outrage can be attractive. After all, if we cultivate our taste and capacity for outrage, we can avoid the uncomfortable idea that we might have to examine ourselves. We enter into that ludicrous situation that Jesus imagined, when one person tries to remove the speck out of someone else’s eye instead of taking the log out of their own. [7]
Anger can also be addictive. After an outburst, we might feel a rush of power and endorphins that is quite rewarding. [8] Experts in psychology tells us that this rush is similar to the one gambling and drug addicts experience. [9] Such anger, in fact, can be a “gateway” to other addictive behaviours. [10]
When we are outraged by everything, we use up our capacity for anger on the trivial and end up not being outraged by the things that outrage God.
How desperately we need to eschew outrage and return to humble self examination; to listening before we speak; to lives of empathy, where we put ourselves in the other person’s shoes; and to treating others as more worthy than ourselves.
In ruminating on his reaction to people who insulted or criticized him, one famous evangelist [11] said he was able to take it in stride because if his detractors really knew who he was, they would have said much worse.
In the same way, we should be careful not to take ourselves too seriously. We have far more flaws than people know about. We have all mistreated others at one time or another. Let us not pour our attention and energy into outrage, but instead into love.
Lord God, please grow in me Your fruit of the Spirit, especially peace, patience, love, and joy. Please change my heart so that I use frustration as a touchstone for gratitude, for all those times that I'm frustrating to You and You are patient with me. Please search my heart and see if there is any wicked way in me [12]. Please show me where I have committed sins of presumption, slapping the label "ungodly" onto behaviours that annoy or frustrate me so that I can justify my own outrage. Please release me from the prison I have built for myself into the wide open spaces of joy and surrender to You. Thank you that I can be confident that no matter what happens, no matter how unsavoury circumstances may be to me, You have matters well in hand, and no one can thwart Your perfect plans [13]. I trust You. Thank You that I don't have to frantically "make" things go my way. Your ways are perfect. Please let me rest in You today. Amen.
NOTES
[1] Alexander McCall Smith, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, New York: Anchor Books, 2010, p. 31 of 410 in ebook.
[2] Matthew 2:39.
[3] Matthew 5:44.
[4] Matthew 16:24-25; Philippians 3:7-8.
[5] Ecclesiastes 7:9.
[6] This statement was later turned into a popular Christian children’s song.
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Bible Communications Inc., 1996, illustration 2824.
[7] Matthew 7:3-5.
[8] William DeFoore, “Anger Addictions: Don’t Let it Destroy Your Relationships and Your Health”, Anger Management Resource, accessed 2 October 2021, https://www.angermanagementresource.com/anger-addiction.html
[9] Jean Kim, “Anger’s Allure: Are You Addicted to Anger?”, Psychology Today, last updated 25 August 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-shrink/201508/angers-allure-are-you-addicted-anger
[10] Krystina Murray, “Exploring the Relationship Between Addiction and Anger Management”, last updated 22 September 2021, https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/anger-management/
[11] I haven’t been able to find this quote again, so I don’t know who said it, but I believe this is a solid, God-honouring mindset.
[12] Psalm 139:23-24, KJV.
[13] Job 42:2.
