“He has anger issues.” “She has no filter, when she gets passionate about something, the words just come out.” The language of anger permeates American culture. Look around at any talk show, news program, or political rally, and it seems like anger is the order of the day. Oddly enough, what is accepted as perfectly normal at a press conference would be seen as devastating in the home. When your favorite politician calls the opposition a “Nazi” or “enemy of the people,” supporters cheer. But try using that same rhetoric when you disagree with your wife about how late to let your teenager stay out and you’ll be sleeping on the couch…with one eye open.
We have gotten so used to anger that we see it as completely justifiable in many of the arenas mentioned above. But that creates a dissonance with our personal lives. Why is it wrong to scream profanities at your husband but not at your political opponent? In a society that has rejected biblical norms (and thus absolute standards), the line marking “sin” gets moved constantly to reflect the prevailing mood of the day. In The Heart of Anger by Christopher Ash and Steve Midgely, the authors unpack where this anger comes from, why is it such a huge temptation, and what scripture says we can do about it.
In the first part of the book, the authors unpack biblical perspectives on anger, especially focusing in on different reasons that people get angry. For instance, someone might get angry out of pride, or out of a desire for power and control. This section does a nice job of helping the reader understand that the heart lies behind unrighteous anger, but the motivating sin can be a wide variety of things. Understanding this will help a pastor/counselor/friend get to the heart of the anger that someone is experiencing.
The second part of the book deals with the anger of God. Our God gets angry, and His anger is always righteous. Ash and Midgely do readers a service by unpacking what different characteristics mark the righteous anger of a holy God. This transitions into part three, which helps the reader begin to understand his anger in contrast to the anger of God. As you begin to unravel how God’s righteous and good anger really doesn’t compare to your self-righteous and sinful anger, you move into a place where God can work.
Part four pushes the reader into Christ. This is where secular therapies and practical strategies fall short. Counting to ten to diffuse anger is not wrong. It can actually be helpful in the short term. It just isn’t sufficient as the end goal. The end goal is that the person no longer wells up with anger in his heart. The authors emphasize that in Christ, the believer can find new desires (a changed heart). When the heart is changed, the reasons for anger from part one begin to change as well. Peace becomes a key feature. The power that Christ gives, filtered through the humility and love that He gives, change the heart dynamic of the angry person, moving him towards wisdom and peace and away from sinful anger.
This is a shorter, popular-level book that deals with an incredibly important subject. Anger is a sin that stalls out so many Christian lives. The helpfulness of this work is going to depend in large part on the reader. If you are a Christian looking for a resource to help you deal with your anger, I would recommend getting this book in combination with discipleship of a one-on-one nature with a trusted brother or sister. For the pastor or biblical counselor who is seeking to build his knowledge and degree of insight into an important issue in many churches, The Heart of Anger will serve probably not as THE book, but certainly as a helpful resource on the subject and a needed contribution to the body of literature that currently exists on the specific issue of anger in the life of the Christian.
I received a copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for a fair and honest review.
