Winning the Battle Against Anger
Commentary
Anger is the most ruthless enemy and has been the cause of some of the most horrendous personal and global conflicts in human history. Look no further than the first brothers, Cain and Abel, to witness the primacy of this affection in human relations.
In “The Cure for Unjust Anger,” Puritan John Downame writes one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read on the topic of anger. While most books or counselors are quick to treat the symptoms of anger, Downame, like a spiritual heart surgeon, goes directly to the root cause.
Using Ephesians 4:26 (“Be angry and do not sin”) as his text, he begins by defining righteous or “just anger” as that which is concerned with the glory of God, public good of others, or private benefit of those suffering. Downame writes, “it is not the disturbance itself but the cause of it that renders it good or evil.” This is where we quickly go sideways with this affection, for most of the time the glory of God or good of others is the last thing on our minds when we become angry, rather it is our love of self or pride which has been wronged. This inevitably leads to what Downame labels “unjust anger.” While Downame does a great job biblically defining the nature and characteristics of “just anger,” in this review I’m going to focus on the latter form of anger which is where we struggle most.
Like any good physician, prior to offering any remedies, Downame first describes the ugly nature of this “disease of the mind.” He writes that “since few are willing to take medicine unless they see its necessity … I will now show the great and manifold evils that accompany the disease of unjust anger.” He compares anger to murder in the sight of God, for “God regards the heart more than the hands.” He notes that while God is slow to anger and quick to forgive (Neh. 9:17), we are often prone to the opposite inclination, being quick to anger and slow to forgive. He remarks that while other affections make us prone to evil, “anger casts us headlong into the gulf of wickedness.”
Here’s a quick list he provides describing this “gulf of wickedness” or the “effects” of unjust anger:
Defaces the image of God
Makes us like Satan
Subjects us to God’s anger
Exposes people to contempt
Deforms the body
Exposes us to physical danger
Blinds reason
Inflames the soul with fury
Ruins friendship
Provokes further sin
Destroys families
Is the cause of all tumults, uproars, seditions, conspiracies, massacres, and bloody wars – indeed all the overthrow and confusion of cities and nations.
It’s no wonder Downame summarizes anger as the “miserable ruin” of the excellent state of the creation and that it is the “most dangerous enemy” to the health of our souls. Now on to the cure.
What Downame does in applying remedies for anger is profound and worth the purchase of this book. The biblical wisdom he applies is found nowhere in modern psychology or on the shelves of Christian bookstores. Sticking with the medical theme, he writes that when it comes to the health of the body, the primary effort should be on preventative care: “just as wise physicians think it is better and safer to preserve health and prevent sickness than to remove disease in a sick person, so it is better in spiritual matters to preserve the soul from vice rather than purge the vice from the infected soul.” This is precisely where most of us go wrong in our battle against anger. We focus on attacking anger directly once it manifests itself instead of removing the causes. In the military we would call these two strategies the direct vs. indirect approach; which is an apt analogy as the direct approach most often leads to a war of attrition or stalemate, while the indirect approach leads to swift victory. It’s noteworthy that Downame spends most of his time, offering twice the number of remedies, in this preventative line of effort; after all, the Latin phrase Si vis pacem, para bellum (if you want peace prepare for war) applies to the war on anger. The problem is most of us neglect spiritual readiness while then being confounded when we lose the battle time after time.
Downame prescribes 16 preventative or indirect remedies to combat anger; 7 of them being things to “remove” and 9 things to “add”. Without spoiling the book, I’ll list one of them as a foretaste. The 7th remedy he recommends we remove is our “lack of meditation.” He offers that in our busy and self-focused world; we have neglected the discipline of daily meditating on the depravity of our own sinful hearts. He writes, “we should think often of the contagious leprosy of original sin … a person infected with the plague is not offended with someone who has the same infection. Suffering lepers don’t look on the sores of their fellow lepers with scorn and anger but with pity and compassion.” He writes that a proper view of our own infirmities and inclinations will mitigate our anger when we encounter similar infirmities in others, for “this is what we would expect.” This remedy flies right in the face our modern culture which encourages a high view of self while meditating daily on how our “needs” should be met.
In addition to these 16 preventative strategies, Downame includes 8 tactical remedies to combat anger directly once deterrence fails. The most convicting for me was his first exhortation which was “don’t feed the fire.” He writes that the primary way anger is increased is by too much talking for “words are the nourishment of anger.” This is the case because our words not only sharpen our own affections but further provoke the person with whom we are angry. The ensuing escalation can be disastrous. We would be wise to apply Proverbs 29:11 which says that while “a fool vents all his feelings,” the “wise man holds them back.”
Downame concludes his book on anger by reminding us that while we may “take the medicine according to the doctor’s orders,” this fight cannot be won on our own, for as our Lord spoke in John 15:5, “apart from Me you can do nothing.” Downame humbly reminds his flock, “but seeing that we are not able to even think a good thought on our own but that it is God alone who works in us both the will and the deed (2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13), let us seek the Lord, the only true physician. May He anoint the blind eyes of our understanding with the precious eye salve of His Holy Spirit.” Read the Puritans pray that with the Lord’s help, this little book might be a significant means of grace in your battle against anger, to the praise of his glorious grace.
Structure of the Book
After a short preface and introduction, this book is divided into 12 chapters followed by a concise conclusion.
The Nature of Anger
Righteous Anger
Unjust Anger
Internal Causes of Unjust Anger
External Causes of Unjust Anger
The Properties of Unjust Anger
The Different Kinds of Unjust Anger
The Evil Effects of Unjust Anger
Removing the Causes of Unjust Anger
Subduing Anger by Laboring for Patience
Remedies to Cure Unjust Anger
Remedies to Cure Anger in Others
Five Key Quotes
“Though anger is a bad mistress to command us, it is a good servant to obey us … it is a good soldier as long as it remains subject to the discipline and control of sanctified reason.”
“Few affections are as strong and as difficult to subdue as anger … other affections make us prone to evil, but anger casts us headlong into the gulf of wickedness.”
“It is the nature of love to make great faults seem little and little faults seem like nothing at all. But anger makes every small slip a capital offense and every disgraceful word worthy of a stab.”
“We must not take anger with us to bed. And once we wake up again, we must not allow anger to wake up with us. In other words, do not treat anger like your clothes, laying them aside during the night while intending to put them on again the next day. Rather, we must put off anger as we put off the old man – with full resolution never again to entertain or assume it.”
“Do not excuse your rash anger by arguing that it is just the way you are …this excuse is no better than using Adam’s fig leaves to hide the nakedness of sin.”
Recommended Complementary Reading
Anger Management (Pocket Puritans) by Richard Baxter
Overcoming Sin and Temptationby John Owen
Keeping the Heartby John Flavel
Where to Buy the Book
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