Monday, February 7

O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent. For wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.  Psalm 109:1-5

A number of years ago I came across the story of a guy named Steve Tran – who had a cockroach problem in his California apartment. He became so frustrated with both the cockroaches and the apartment manager’s lack of responsiveness to his concerns that he decided to get rid of the pests himself. He went to the local hardware store to look for a “bug bomb”, a product designed to kill insects with a toxic fog released over time. He ignored the instructions on the canisters that warned of fire or explosion if used improperly. He also figured if one bug-bomb was good – 25 would be better. He set off all 25 bombs in his apartment at once and left. When the fog eventually reached the pilot light of his stove – the explosion was so powerful that it blew his front door across the street and set all his furniture on fire – causing $10,000 worth of damage but failing to get rid of the cockroaches!

I’ve used that story over the years as a kind of parable for our experience of anger. Psychologists tell us that anger is an involuntary emotion – like sadness or fear – and is absolutely inevitable in human life. We all feel anger. And there is nothing wrong with feeling anger – for the Bible says we are created in the image of a God who also feels anger.

We feel anger for many reasons – perhaps most commonly in response to what we perceive as injustice or in response to personal pain. In both of these situations the capacity to feel anger can be seen as a gift. Think of the good that has come out of the “righteous anger” or “outrage” that Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr. felt toward racial injustice. Jesus used a kind of “holy anger” to drive moneychangers from the Temple because they were robbing people in the name of God.

When we feel anger in response to pain, whether that pain is caused by stubbing our toe in the dark or seeing our children mistreated, anger tells us something is wrong and we need to respond in some way.

But while anger is inevitable and can be good – it is also very, very dangerous. I think that’s why God has given us some examples of “angry prayers” in the Bible! Of the 150 Psalms in the great Book of Psalms – at least 10 are called “imprecatory Psalms” – or “Psalms of curses.” These are Psalms written in response to injustice or great personal pain. They are prayers filled with anger, resentment, bitterness and the desire for retribution. In a word, they are honest prayers!

David trusted his relationship with God enough to be completely honest in his prayers. He knows that he can’t trust himself enough to carry his anger and pain by himself! So he gets on his knees, or on his face, and he opens his heart – even the ugly part – to God in prayer. Did you know that you can do the same thing?

Take time to read all of Psalm 109 – and ask God to help you trust him with all of your emotions!

Brian Coffey