Lee this is a very good post. Anger is one of the feelings I had to teach myself I could own, I could express and it was okay. It's also one I don't run from any longer, not my own or any one else's. I no longer tell someone who is angry to stop being angry, however I may ask them to kindly put the gun down, LOL.
As JW's we were taught to control our anger, it wasn't a Christian way to act, angry. The scripture at Col.3:8 comes to mind about deadening our body members to any kind of badness anger included in this along with abusive speech. We were admonished to put on the new personality. As Christians we were to be peaceable, mild manner, even tempered a hard thing to do in reality. Of course when we failed to live up to this perfection the guilt would over come us. I've often heard that anger turned inward (no expression for it in a Christians life) leads to depression. This could be the reason there are so many in the WTS who are depressed souls. Suppression! I think it's what lead to my depression that and a lack of knowledge of how to express myself and my feelings.
I wish I had a dollar for every time the scripture at Eph. 4:26 was misapplied; Be wrathful (angry) and yet do not sin, let the sun not set wit you in a provoked state. Many times it was insinuated that to be angry was a sin. Yet the scripture clearly says to be angry, in other words yes there are things which will cause us anger however to act out that anger could lead us to sin. Like what you said Lee "I was so mad I just exploded in rage."
When I was in therapy one of the best things I learned was that I was entitled to all my feelings the good and the bad ones. I actually had to learn how to feel many feelings as I had stuffed so much emotion for so long and some of it was absolutely due to being raised in a religion which encouraged, no insisted we act and behave a certain way the Christian way. Don't get me wrong it's a good thing to be well behaved but it's a bad thing to do it at the cost of really feeling your emotions and being an actor in your life rather than a reactor.
I was taught some good tools to express my feelings and one I use to this day is to be safe, legal and constructive with my feelings. In other words I can be angry but it's not safe for me to use violence in expressing that anger nor is it legal nor would it be constructive to those who are on lookers or to myself.
Thanks Lee for the information I think it's great stuff and I'm going to print this out for reference.
