Lenten Righteous Anger

Brandon Lily, Animal sponsored powerlifter, talks a lot about anger in this episode. He mentions how he hated his dad when he was younger due to his working long hours. He even goes on to mention that his first experience in the weight room was in middle school, and he was humiliated. His coach put a certain amount of weight on the bar and had the students squat it. On Brandon’s attempt he unracked the bar and was crushed under its weight.

Anger seems to have played a large role in Brandon’s life. And, it seems to have played that role for a long time. But, over time he was able to use that anger to learn more about himself and to focus it into a more positive direction.

Anger is not a bad thing. Anger is a natural reaction when an injustice has been experienced. The righteous anger we possess is geared towards bringing justice and right order back to a situation or relationship. We know anger in itself is not sinful because we can see that Jesus was angry when he saw his Father’s house being abused. He was very angry and so he set things right. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was very angry at racism in America and he used that anger to fight against it. Ghandi was very angry at the occupation of his country, and he used that anger to fight for change. Pope John Paul II was very angry at the communism that controlled his beloved Poland, but he used that anger to affect change. Anger can be a powerful tool, but how it is used makes all the difference.

Anger is included in the seven deadly sins. Anger turns deadly when we allow it to control us, enslave us. When we clench and hold tight to our anger we are not able to receive something good, nor are we able to receive. Sirach 27:30

Let’s use the rest of this Lenten season to see where anger may fester in our lives and to loose it in the right direction like a King or Ghandi. The correct use of a righteous anger can live to a more fruitful life, even within a short 24 hour period:

“I’m trying to live a more thankful existence, you know, and beyond that I try to be better than I was yesterday, and I don’t mean in the weight room I’m talking about as a person if I can grow as a person every single day, and the third thing would be to help another person, even if it’s just one or 10. If I can wake up and honestly be thankful, be better than I was yesterday, and help somebody else to be better I really don’t know how a man could ask for much more in 24 hours.” – Brandon Lily

Fr. Barron on Anger and Forgiveness

And here's a beautiful story from the Aurora, CO shooting where anger did not win out:
"I do forgive him"