Question: What is righteous anger? I always feel like I’m right when I’m angry. Sometimes I still feel like I was right after I get over being angry, but I still feel ashamed of things I said or did. I don’t think righteous anger can just mean “being nice” but that seems like the only way not to feel bad or break relationships. When I think about it, I start to feel trapped and that makes me angry. So I avoid the question until something sets me off and then all the frustration I’ve been avoiding adds fuel to my anger. Can you help me think about this better?
Resources: Here are several resources that can be useful in preparing for of following up with the conversation discussed in this VLOG post.
- Seminar: Overcoming Anger
- Article: The Heart of Conflict by Ken Sande
- Book: Uprooting Anger by Robert Jones
- Vlog: What is the difference between bitterness and anger?
- Blog: Transvaluation – A Side Effect of Resentment
- Blog: Angry at the Gospel
- Blog: Anger is a Rushed Emotion
Here are the seven questions discussed in this post in this blog post taken from David Powlison’s article “Anger Part 1: Understanding Anger” from The Journal of Biblical Counseling (Fall 1995)..
- Do you get angry about the right things?
- Do you express anger in the right way?
- How long does your anger last?
- How controlled is your anger?
- What motivates your anger?
- Is your anger “primed and ready” to respond to another person’s habitual sins?
- What is the effect of your anger?
To review the other questions addressed in this VLOG series click here.
Note: The VLOG (video-blog) Q&A is a regular series on my blog. If you would like to submit a question, it can be e-mailed to Summit’s admin over counseling at counseling@summitrdu.com (please note this is an administrative account; no individual or family counsel is provided through e-mail). Please limit your questions to 3-7 sentences. This is not a forum for to request or receive counseling. No responses will be sent to questions other than those selected for a video response.