The Cure for the Age of Rage

Are you mad? Well, you probably should be. Everyone seems to be mad about something. Are all anger, outrage, and indignation equal or justified?

Our nation has continued to have a growing political divide over the last decade. Over the past months, we have had the fears and frustrations brought on by the current coronavirus pandemic as any sense of normalcy has been disrupted. And, now we have the added moral outrage sparked by the horrific viral video of the arrest of George Floyd-- an arrest that turned deadly. We have gone from a national pandemic and "safe at home" orders to national rallies and riots against police brutality and racism.

How are we to react to this age of rage? Are there any insights or directions we can gain from the Bible, 2,000 years removed from our current events?

In the first century, we find a minority living in scattered communities throughout the Roman Empire, rampant with racism and brutality towards those they oppressed. James writes (1:19-27) to give the scattered and oppressed believers some imperatives on how to conduct themselves. In these verses, we can find some timely instruction for a cure for the age of rage.