Our world today is an angry one.
Not a single day goes by without some news story working up our emotions, causing us to get angry over injustice or someone’s foolish decisions (like a gas shortage brought on not by an actual shortage but rather by panicked buying!).
We also have access to virtually unlimited information through the internet, and, through social media, we can hear and read the perspectives of people whom we haven’t seen in a decade or more, or we encounter people whom we’ll never actually meet. Some of these encounters build up the world and allow us to expand our horizons, but many times we find ourselves angsty and angry about all sorts of things, usually things far beyond our control or at people we’ll never meet. There’s a definite truth to the internet-age adage, “Don’t read the comments.” Invariably, unless we’re somehow stoic and in complete control of our emotions, we read something irritating or cringe-worthy in the comment sections of almost anything on the internet and get set off, tempted to fire back a laughing emoji instead of engaging with someone else’s argument, however well or poorly it is presented, or to reply dismissively, “Ok, Karen”.
But if the rest of the world is so angry, why do we Christians allow ourselves to become like everyone else and to descend into an irate, angry way of living? Or, to phrase the question a different way: How can we be the light of the world if we instead fall into the trap of anger and infighting over every little thing, even among ourselves as members of the Church? How can we expect to draw others to the freedom of life in Christ if we instead spend every waking moment yelling, online or in person, at each other over liturgical minutiae or if we fail to love each other and serve the poor?
It’s tempting to think that we live, to borrow a term used in so many advertising campaigns during the COVID-19 era, “in unprecedented times”, but a cursory glance at Church history demonstrates that we aren’t as special as we like to imagine. After all, some of the most amusing moments in the Scriptures or in early Church history include St. Paul calling the Galatians stupid1 or saints punching heretics in the face at Church councils.2 These events, however, are the exception, not the norm. Instead, most of St. Paul’s writings include admonitions for the churches to which he wrote not to think of themselves as splintered groups,3 and most councils went by with no physical altercations, even if the debates could get a bit heated.4 Our polarized world today fits right in with many, many eras of life in the Church and in the world in general, which should help those Christians who are perhaps more than a little concerned about corruption in the Church or hypocrisy among Christians to feel slightly better. After all, Jesus promised that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against” his Church, even though it sure has looked like they might at various points in the past.5
So, then, if today’s ecclesiastical and cultural contexts don’t stand alone as the worst of the worst or as completely unprecedented in the history of Christianity, we should look to see how the Lord and his apostles handled their own situations and the commentary which they put forth on the matter.
Firstly, let’s not forget that Jesus did get angry–at the right time and in the right way, when he flipped the money-changers’ tables in the temple.6 Anger is in itself not a bad thing, provided that we direct it in appropriate ways, such as how Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas remind us.7 Anger can, however, dominate us, and it certainly has a corrosive property when it settles within our hearts, causing us to become bitter. If we spend most of our time angry, we won’t have time to carry out the important commands of Jesus to love one another as he loved us.8 Plus, let’s face it, who wants to spend time with angry people?
Secondly, in his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul warns explicitly against allowing our anger to consume us:
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27
Notice how, crucially, St. Paul does not say, “Don’t be angry, ever.” Instead, he warns that allowing our anger to ferment allows for the devil to get involved, and the devil thrives at fostering division. Indeed, St. Peter urges us in his first letter to “resist [the devil], steadfast in faith.”9 If, then, we see that the apostles themselves responded by warning against allowing anger to penetrate our hearts excessively, we should heed their warnings.
Now, how do these warnings against anger play out in the modern world, especially one interconnected by social media and easy-to-access news at every waking (and sleeping) moment? Pope Francis, in his recent encyclical titled Fratelli Tutti, builds upon earlier reflections put forth by Pope John Paul II on human dignity. Pope Francis notes that, contrary to how we may feel when living our lives online, “digital connectivity is not enough to build bridges. It is not capable of uniting humanity.”10 Our anger online is not “a positive form of mutual support” with others.11 Instead, when we allow ourselves to descend into the madness of anger and allow anger to control us, “respect for others disintegrates”.12 Francis expresses a foundational hope that “by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity.”13 Only through re-emphasizing the dignity of every person whom we encounter, both online and in real life, can we hope to move beyond the impasse of cynicism and frustration with each other and enter into that uniquely Christian expression of joy which attracts others to our faith.
So, enough about anger. How can we express our Christian joy more effectively today, both online and in real life? I propose three practical suggestions:
1. First, we must establish good friendships and relationships with others, even if we disagree fundamentally with them. We can build these true friendships not by ignoring our differences but by acknowledging that others have the same inherent dignity as we have, even when we disagree strongly with their views. Most of my closest friends have some pretty significantly different views from mine on important topics, but, because we emphasize our friendship first, we can engage in some strong discussions and arguments (not fights–I mean a properly reasoned argument, a debate, a discussion) without compromising our relationship.
2. Crucially, don’t build an echo chamber! Social media, for all its benefits and connectivity, has a truly miserable tendency to tempt us to remove or block others whose views we dislike. Fight that temptation as much as possible. Echo chambers distort our own thinking. They also make it almost impossible for us to engage with people with whom we disagree. If we deliberately never encounter someone who expresses views different from ours, we will never be able to live in what is, these days, a pluralistic world. Furthermore, how can we hope to demonstrate to others the joy and freedom we have from following Christ if we cut off anyone who disagrees with us?
3. I’ve written about this one before, but remembering the dignity of others also means that we should assume the best of them and give them the benefit of the doubt. How many times have we encountered people who dismiss us or what we say without actually listening to what we’re trying to say? Or how many times have we done the same to others? It seems to me that, in today’s fractured world, the mark of a Christian should be someone who listens well to others, not unjustly criticizing them or otherwise dehumanizing them. It doesn’t matter if it seems like nobody else wants to respect others. Jesus himself told us,
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9
Let’s act as peacemakers, choosing joy in the everyday moments and showing the love of God to others by recognizing and valuing their dignity as beloved children of God.
1. Galatians 3:1.
2. St. Nicholas – Saints & Angels – Catholic Online, https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=371.
3. 1 Corinthians 1:10.
4. See, for example, the disagreements within the Church in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.
5. Matthew 16:18.
6. John 2:13-17.
7. For Aristotle, see Chapter 5 of Book 2 of the Nichomachean Ethics (1105b19-12). For Thomas Aquinas, see II-II.158 of the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas for his exploration of anger and when it is just and appropriate.
8. John 15:12.
9. 1 Peter 5:9
10. Fratelli Tutti 43, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.
11. Ibid.
12. Fratelli Tutti 42, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.
13. Fratelli Tutti 8, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.