Angry, Yes; Hate, No

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

IF we truly love Christ by following his word and his example (cfr. Jn 14,23), then we would know how to distinguish between anger and hatred. The former is a passing emotion that is unavoidable given our human condition, while the latter is already a human act that is arrived at knowingly and intentionally.

In terms of morals, anger is still in the neutral state, while hatred is already a sin. As we can see in the life of Christ, especially when he had to deal with the self-righteous leading Jews of his time, he got angry a number of times, even going to the extent of scolding them. He even scolded Peter for restraining him to fulfill his mission. (cfr. Mt 16,23)

We should just see to it that we do not allow anger to become a sin. St. Paul warned us about this when he said: “Be angry, and do not sin.” (Eph 4,26) This means that while anger is a natural human emotion when faced with a perceived danger or dislike, it should be controlled and not allowed to lead to sinful actions or grudges or hatred.

It’s ok for us to get angry, especially because we cannot avoid having to deal with all sorts of difficult and other negative situations. But we should not allow it to become an occasion for resentment and hatred to take root in our heart.

We should just try our best to resolve whatever differences and conflicts we can have with others as best that we can and get back to the state of good relations with others even if disagreements continue to take place.

Especially in the area of politics and in others where stiff competition and rivalry dominate, we should see to it that we have good control over our emotions so that they do not deteriorate into somethings sinful already.

So, we should just be most careful with our anger. It should only be a passing thing that is resorted to as an emergency reaction. We should get over it as soon as possible, and move on to what we ought to do. It should never blind us from our real duties and responsibilities. And most importantly, it should never take away our duty to be always charitable with everyone, including the one who may have caused our anger.

Anger is one of our God-given emotions locked into our nature as persons. It has its legitimate use. But precisely because of our precarious human condition here on earth, we have to be wary of it. In fact, anger is also considered one of the capital sins, along with pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, that can beget many other sins.

If ever we have to be angry, let’s try our best to be angry in the spirit of Christ who showed anger over the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, and over those who turned the temple into a market place. Christ’s anger is what is called righteous anger, one that is done always in charity and in the truth, and not just due to opinions and biases. It’s an anger that is meant to correct, purify, heal.

For those who have some serious problem in this department, who are irascible with short fuses, great effort should be made to tame their proclivity to anger. Perhaps, some medical and professional help should be resorted to. But definitely, our anger can only be best managed when we try our best to be with Christ as we should.

As one psalm described it, God’s anger “lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (30,5)

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com