Hulk Smash

 "But now ye also put off all these; anger…."Colossians 3:8. I watched the Incredible Hulk television show starring Bill Bixby as David  Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk when I was little. Banner was a scientist, and in an experiment gone wrong, he was forever changed. Whenever he gets angry or in a dangerous situation, he becomes a giant, green-skinned monster with super strength that can't be controlled or reasoned with. The opening scene has the famous line, "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."  As a boy, I liked it when he got angry because I wanted to see the giant green monster smash stuff. Banner had to try and live a chill life because being an angry man was dangerous for everyone in society. He probably had to avoid paying attention to politics or expecting McDonald's to be able to provide him a milkshake. But sometimes (like every episode), he was in a situation where life was on the line, and his anger over injustice pushed him to save the day. 

God gave us the emotion of anger for a reason for it, and it's good if used rightly. Our problem with anger comes from our fallen nature. We get angry at the wrong things and then don't deal with anger in a godly way. God doesn't fly off the handle or become out of control in His holy wrath. But God is angry at sin and the wicked. In that sense, we should model our anger after God. The first thing we need to do is find out why we are angry. Sometimes, you just might feel mad for no particular reason. If you don't know why you are mad, you have no just reason for it and have to put that off. But, let's say you have a good cause. Think about why. You either have a good reason or a bad reason. If you are sinfully angry, you need to deal with your sin and heart. The fruit of the Spirit is not a chip on your shoulder. But, if you are angry and it's for a good reason, you also need to deal with that good use of the emotion. God gives us anger to motivate us to action, but it must be tempered by our reason and our conscience guided by Scripture. Even if you are just, you can't go "Hulk smash" on everything when you are mad. But, that emotion, tempered by meekness and guided by Scripture, motivates us to action, protect the weak and innocent, and bring justice to the guilty. If you get mad at someone over something they said, in our Facebook society, you can simply block them and delete them from your life. But you are not taking the high road. If your brother sins against you, anger should motivate you to go to him (Matthew 18:15) and deal with the sin rather than add more evil to the situation.