5 Minutes Bible Study - Why Are We Such An Angry Generation? Video

WHY ARE WE SUCH AN ANGRY GENERATION? by Dr. Harold Sala
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. Psalm 37:8

Dr. James Comer is Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and the Associate Dean at the Yale Medical School. In an interview, Dr. Comer said, "This definitely is an 'angry age'‑‑much more so, probably, than any time in recent history." Comer was right, as I am quite certain you will agree, but why? Why should we be an "angry, up‑tight" generation when we have so much that previous generations did not have? For a few minutes think with me about some of the factors that produce the tinder or gun powder of emotional outbursts which explode in a flash of anger at the slightest provocation.

First, stress produces anger. We live busier lives today than at any time in recent history, and tension is the result. Like the string of a violin that is tightened and tightened until it snaps, we load our schedules tighter and tighter until we explode in a burst of anger. Then we ask ourselves, "Why did I get so mad?" It is simple‑‑you had too much crowded into a short span of time. And then you feel guilty because you are convinced that spiritual people just do not get angry. But you did, and you dislike yourself because of it.

A second reason that we are an angry generation is frustration. Failure to see your expectations met, whether it is in your marriage partner or your children, failure to get the grade you deserved. All of these, and other similar situations, produce frustration; and when there is no relief valve, frustration builds anger. We all cannot deal with this frustration as a friend of mine did, who took his trail bike back into the mountains to hunt. When it refused to run, he turned his .45 caliber pistol on it and shot it to pieces. Sometimes we would like to do that, but it just is not economically feasible.

A third reason that we lose our temper is personal affronts. Somebody tells a Polish joke and you happen to have been born in Warsaw, or they call you a "Gringo" or a "Jap." You take it as an insult to your race and you allow temper to flare.

Reason number four that ours is an angry generation is that many feel their personal rights are being violated and they dont like it. Yet in marriage there are certain things we expect of each other, and when we don't get them we get angry. A man expects certain things of his wife, and she, in turn, expects certain things of her husband. At the same time, we feel that marriage guarantees certain rights and privileges, but when they are not reciprocated, anger follows. We consider our being slighted as an attack on our person, and we are not going to sit there and let somebody walk over us. No sir! We are going to stand up for our rights!

You may win an argument but lose a friend, or possibly your husband or wife. It is my feeling that personal rights, especially in marriage, have been vastly overstressed. Part of learning to love is learning to serve, and before we can be on the receiving end we must learn how to give.

The fifth reason we are an angry generation is that we see a situation that runs counter to our values and we respond in anger. A study of the life of Jesus indicates that most of His anger was occasioned by situations that were wrong, and He did something about it. Call it "righteous indignation," or whatever you like, but we need more of it.

Newspapers recently told of a woman driving down a street when she saw two muggers rifling the pockets of a man who had his hands in the air. She stopped, sensing it was a hold‑up, and began to honk the horn of her car. This occasioned a blast of a 12‑gauge shotgun at her car as the robbers made their get‑away. But, undaunted, Mrs. Sibert leaned on the horn of her car and trailed the suspects, who soon crashed into a parked car and were arrested by police. She told a reporter, "I just said to myself, I am not going to let them get away with that! I guess I just got mad!"

Resource reading: Psalm 37:1-10