Passing the Peace: Fire and Fury

Like fire, anger is a force with destructive power.

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3 minutes

Sep 16, 2021

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Fire is a powerful force.

Across the western United States, communities have been devastated by raging forest fires that destroy everything in their paths. But fire is a critical tool for our survival as humans—used to keep us warm, cook our food, and transport us safely to where we need to go.

Like fire, anger is a force with destructive power.

There’s a lot of anger around the topic of race today. Some are angry about their experience of race and some are angry about the way people express their thoughts and experience of race. It’s becoming rare for the opposing party to listen to one another.

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Proverbs 14:29 (ESV)

A key practice in peacemaking is being slow to anger. It’s essential to understanding one another, and that understanding is foundational to peacemaking. But it’s also a key element of our ultimate goal as followers of Jesus—to be used by God to produce righteousness in one another.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

James 1:19-20 (NIV)

The secret ingredient to being able to harness one’s anger to produce the kind of righteousness God desires is the 2-and-1 special of being slow to speak and slow to anger, plus one quick order of attentive listening.

As peacemakers, what should we do when we find ourselves with a spark of anger that has the makings of a wildfire? How can we use our anger to heal?

A small, orange tongue of fire on a dark background.

First, pause. Take a deep breath. Remember that you are made in the image of God—as is the person across the table from you, in the pew next to you, or on the receiving end of your email or social media comment.

Then, pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in the way of peace. To use the fire burning within you to refine and to produce righteousness in yourself and others.

I’ll close with wisdom from St. Augustine of Hippo:

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”

A quotation from St. Augustine of Hippo on a green background. “Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”

Originally published in Arrabon’s email newsletter “Passing the Peace.” Sign up for our newsletter below.

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