Is it just me or are people angrier these days? It seems that no matter where one turns, in movies, on the news, in the stores, even at church people seem to be afflicted with a lack of patience and short fuses. It is almost as if there is an epidemic of anger that is growing with the pandemic of COVID-19.

I contend that some of the anger we are experiencing now is the result of having to quarantine for so long. Being out of our routines, being asked to do more with less, being told where and when we can go is enough to cause the most patient among us to become frustrated. We are all having to try to conform to what is irritatingly being called the “new normal” without any idea of what this means. And then there is all the information and misinformation that we are being bombarded with...

Perhaps another cause of the increase in anger is fear. Fear does some weird things to us. In-stead of simply admitting we are afraid we become bellicose, ranting and raging about all kinds of things so as to avoid the reality that we are afraid. We are afraid that we may not be able to keep our job, that we may not be able to provide for our families in the way we would like, that we do not know how bad things will get and how we will handle what comes next. The fear of losing control is often cause for displays of anger.

We should not forget that there are legitimate reasons for people to be angry. There is such a thing as righteous anger. We often hear that even Jesus got angry enough to flip the tables and to throw the money changers out of the temple. This praiseworthy type of anger calls out for a correction of vices, prays for the elimination of injustice, and imposes restitution. Much of the protest we see these days is meant to reveal this type of anger but is sadly drowned out by the more vicious anger that seeks revenge, that demands attention, and that at its roots can be seen simply as entitlement gone rogue.

As usual I have pointed out a problem that needs addressing but am hard pressed to offer a solution. This is likely because as a human being, I am often angry. I am angry when things do not go my way, I am angry when I have to wait my turn, I am angry when I feel that I have been slighted or disrespected. In truth I think we could all admit that anger is the emotion we do best.

No one likes being shouted at. No one likes having things thrown at them. No one likes to be accused in an angry tone and no one likes to be belittled or abused. So, perhaps the cure to all this anger is to remember how we desire to be treated and to treat others in the same way. Perhaps re-newing a commitment to the golden rule would help mitigate the epidemic of anger that is running rampant. If we think, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Mt. 7:12) before we act, we can respond to difficult situations with calmness and with an eye to restoring peace rather than wreaking havoc.

In the end anger breeds anger, violence breeds violence, and fear breeds fear. The consciences that resides in each of us, the tiny voice of Jesus calling us to do good and to avoid evil is calling us to seek a new way. This new way doesn’t eliminate anger, but it does use it for good. Anger with love is a call to make all things new. Anger with righteousness encourages us to find common ground and to realize the power of mercy and forgiveness. Anger must be used to shed light and not simply as a tool for adding heat to already hot topics and simmering situations. Honest and righteous anger that seeks to preserve the truth is the guardian of the future ensuring that we avoid the sins of the past.

We all grow angry from time to time. We need to avoid allowing our anger to turn us into some-thing we are not. Instead of allowing lack of control, fear, frustration trap us in a never-ending cycle of anger, let us use our righteous anger to restore peace, to end injustice, to as Jesus in the temple did, restore holiness and the extraordinariness to our hearts, homes, and world.