There’s a time to speak up and stand against the status quo when things are not okay. It’s not love to simply turn a blind eye to injustice when it’s within our power to do something about it. But it’s not helpful to have such a short fuse that we blow up at everything. We must learn how to grow beyond unchecked anger without losing our voice and the courage needed to make a meaningful difference when it matters.
To be sure, human nature seems prone to extremes. On the one hand, we might hold back and merely conform to what everyone else is doing. And this is not always consciously being passive; it’s simply easier, and often safer, to just go along with the prevailing expectations around us.
However, when the traditional ways of doing things become suffocating, we rightly rebel and seek greater freedom. But, in doing so, we then tend to go to the other extreme.
We feel like our eyes have finally been open and our anger is now motivating us to change. But instead of blindly conforming to the status quo we now blindly reject it – feeling like me must actively resist everything lest we go back to how things used to be.
Wisdom helps us to take a more measured approach. While it’s good to find our voice and speak out on issues that matter, it serves no one when our anger is fueled merely by our pride and not anchored in meaningful guiding principles.
As we mature, we can wisely discern what’s good to keep and what’s good to let go of, without uncritically conforming or obsessively rejecting issues either way.
What starts off as righteous anger quickly becomes destructive when we can no longer see beyond our selfish pride to the larger story unfolding.
In the end, anger will rightly motivate you to correct many injustices. But grow beyond mere anger to meaningful and loving action – wisely discerning the true good to pursue.
Photo by Avery Cocozziello on Unsplash
