Angry-Black-Woman  According to a USA Today study from 2013, Americans who report feeling angry or irritable rose to 60%, up from 50% just two years earlier. A 2012 Harvard Medical School study revealed that almost two-thirds of American teens admitted to being angry, to the point of destroying property and engaging in or threatening violence.

   Why is anger so widespread? It isn’t just the unemployed who publicly lose their tempers. Celebrities are often “losing it” too. Remember the rants by Justine Bieber or Alex Baldwin? Don’t forget that it was the famous singer Chris Brown who was arrested for throwing a rock at his mother’s car window.

   A famous social researcher named Daniel Yankelovich thinks he has discovered our problem. In his book New Rules he explains the results of an extensive research project he conducted in America. After analyzing hundreds of thousands of questionnaires and after personally interviewing 3,000 people, he concluded that we have changed from being a “denial-of-self” society to a “duty-to-self” society. In other words, we Americans used to be committed to putting others first, but now we believe that it is our duty to take care of ourselves first.

   The book, New Rules, was subtitled, “Searching for Self-Fulfillment in a World Turned Upside Down.” The old rules, Yankelovich said, used to stress duty to others, particularly to your family. It used to be that selfish “me first” attitudes were shunned. If someone was caught putting himself first, he would be embarrassed. Today, however, we are focused instead on self-fulfillment. Now when someone puts himself (or herself) first, he (or she) is applauded for protecting that sense of “self-worth.” How often have we heard of someone getting angry just because they felt “disrespected”? I think this is largely the result of the self-esteem movement.

   There is no question that Americans believe in the importance of self-fulfillment. Another researcher, James Davison Hunter, discovered that 83% of Americans agree that it’s important to put yourself first. Hunter wrote, “Self-fulfillment is no longer a natural by-product of a life committed to higher ideals, but rather is a goal, pursued rationally and with calculation as an end in itself. The quest for emotional psychological and social maturity, therefore, becomes normative. Self-expression and self-realization compete for self-sacrifice as a guiding life ethic.”

   There is a better way. Jesus taught that following Him meant actually refusing to protect ourselves (e.g. our self-image). Jesus challenged each of us when He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). 

   It fascinates me that the Bible always has the answer to the problems we face every day. We don’t have to live with anger and bitterness. Putting God first brings peace and contentment.

   Putting ourselves first, on the other hand, brings chaos and confusion. This is true because when we love and worship God, we get to do what we were made to do. We get to bring God glory (make Him look good). “For by

[Jesus] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). “Everyone who is called by My name …I have created for My glory…” (Isaiah 43:7).

   How sad that America has wandered so far away from its Christian roots! Is it any wonder that we are becoming more and more angry? Our founding fathers believed that God should be honored above all. James Madison, our fourth president, said, “We have staked the future [of this country] upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God.” William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania said, “If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him….Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

   If you’re discouraged with how life is treating you, turn your life over to the One who knows exactly what you need. Jesus volunteered to die on the Cross to pay for your sins so you could have a permanent relationship with Him. Through the work of Christ we can be “…holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Ephesians 1:4–5).