A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 1: Our Experience
1. Angry People
2. Do You Have a Serious Problem with Anger?
3. How Does That Shoe Fit?
Section 2: What is Anger?
4. “I’m Against That”
5. All of You Does Anger
6. Nature, Nurture . . . and Human Nature
7. The Constructive Displeasure of Mercy, Part 1: Patience and Forgiveness
8. The Constructive Displeasure of Mercy, Part 2: Charity and Constructive Conflict
9. Good and Angry?
10. The Best Anger, the Best Love
Section 3: How to Change
11. A Mirror on Your Anger
12. He Gives More Grace
13. Eight Questions: Taking Your Anger Apart to Put You Back Together
Section 4: Tackling the Hard Cases
14. “I’ll Never Get Over It”
15. The Everyday Angers
16. Do You Ever Get Angry at Yourself?
17. Anger at God
A Final Word
Summary
Section 1: Our Experience
Every person has personal experiences with anger. We know what it is like to be angry, and we know what it is like to have anger directed towards us. Anger destroys marriages, families, friendships, and churches. There are varieties of anger: some explode in rage, while others simmer and detach. Some people shoot guns, while others bury their nose in a book and ignore their spouse. Some people are like volcanoes, with every grudge stored up for years, leading to frequent and violent explosions. Others are like icebergs, seeming indifferent but their anger has made them cold and hostile. As much as anger is usually sinful and destructive, there is such a thing as innocent, pure, and righteous anger. There are things that love must hate, and love should be angered by evil, injustice, and abuse. Righteous anger can motivate us to take action to make things right. Hot and cold anger are more similar than different, and irritation and coldness have much in common with yelling. Even if we do not go to the extremes of some others, we all have similar experiences with personal anger, bearing grudges, being irritated, failing to forgive, and acting inappropriately because we are angry.
Everyone has a problem with anger, and everyone needs the forgiveness and help that comes through Jesus Christ. Anger is rarely simple in our experience: it is often mixed-up. There are common reactions when people are told that they have an anger problem. Some will admit it and recognize that they need help (even if they aim at the wrong solutions). Others acknowledge that they have a problem with their anger, but then immediately minimize it and point out people who are much worse. Still others will acknowledge that they are angry, but they believe that their anger is justified, and the problem is always someone else. In contrast to those who admit they have an anger problem, some people will argue that they are basically calm individuals, and the times they get angry are anomalies (and the fault of others). There are also some who believe that their anger is a force that motivates them and empowers them to bring about positive social change and justice. It is also possible to be someone who denies being angry, and there may be some truth in that claim. The problem at that point is that it is also possible to be too indifferent or apathetic to care enough to ever experience strong emotion. Sadly, many people experience anger that is directed towards them, and their anger problem may not be their own internal anger, but the anger of others. . . .
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