Pondering Proverbs – Leadership (10)

 

“The fury of a king is like messengers of death, but a wise man will appease it.” Proverbs 16:14.

 

In my garage I have safety glasses, rubber gloves, face masks, and protection that covers my ears. I use this personal protective equipment when I do certain tasks and when I handle certain products. During my career in property management, employees were required to attend safety training throughout the year, and this included the proper use of PPE, personal protective equipment. Safety training never stopped, best practices in safety were insisted upon and failure to adhere to safety practices, the violation of government standards, could lead to termination of employment. Safety can be a life-or-death matter on the job, just as it can be a life and death matter in my own garage. I ought to handle muriatic acid differently than I do hose water. Products that can be helpful can also be harmful; actions that can be productive, such as splitting firewood, can also lead to injury.

 

I have been angry for good and bad reasons, I have displayed anger sensibly and stupidly, and I have responded to the anger of others wisely and foolishly. I have been more foolish with anger than thoughtful, and consequently I’ve learned much from my mistakes – thanks to the grace of God. I have also seen how obedience to Jesus Christ in volatile situations leads to the peace of God ruling in our hearts.

 

When we encounter anger, whether it is our own anger or that of others, it is helpful if we realize that we are dealing with something dangerous and that if we don’t have the equivalent of PPE (personal protective equipment) that we will hurt ourselves and others. Anger can be helpful, but it can also be deadly, it can poison our souls – and most of the anger we see around us and…I imagine…within us…is toxic.

 

I can only say so much in a brief reflection, here are two elements of Proverbs 16:14:

 

When a leader is angry, whether for righteous or unrighteous reasons, and whether the anger is expressed righteously or unrighteously, the effect is exponential and “like messengers of death." That is, the effect of anger coming from leadership, from the king, can shock the organization, the system, the team – for good or for evil. A leader’s anger can have an exponential effect – again, whether for building up or for tearing down.

 

I once worked for the owner of a company who was intelligent in many ways, and from whom I learned some positive things that helped me in my career; but who was stupid when it came to displaying his anger and criticism. In just a few moments he could destroy months of good morale with his anger and criticism – and considering that it was his own company that he was hurting this made no sense – his anger was costing him money and he couldn’t see it.

 

More than once I asked him to please relay his concerns to me and that I would communicate them to our employees. I tried again and again to help him see the damage he was doing to a fine group of people with his sarcasm and anger – but I don’t think he ever understood my point.

 

The greater our authority and position, the greater the potential effect of our words and actions. When I was a construction laborer no one really paid attention to any anger I displayed, but when I was leading a company, my anger grabbled everyone’s attention.

 

My own sense is that when anger does need to be communicated that we ought to first submit ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ, asking Him to search our hearts and guide our words and emotions – we ought to fear the egotistical and self-indulgent display of anger. Submission to Jesus is the best PPE we can wear, akin to the armor of God described in Ephesians Chapter 6.

 

The reason electricity providers use transformers is that our houses and businesses would burn up if the electricity transmitted to them was not stepped down before entering our buildings. In the same fashion, raw anger is seldom helpful – it needs to be modulated and thoughtfully communicated.

 

There is much lying and cheating and inequity and stealing in this world; and people ought to have leaders who are angry about these things, who will not tolerate nor reward these things, but who will rather hold those who practice them accountable. However, such anger ought to be in submission to Jesus Christ, it ought to be thoughtful, and as redemptive as possible – when we engage with anger we are handling nitroglycerin.

 

Again, my sense is that anger ought to be seldom displayed and used because otherwise it will wear us out and wear down those around us. Leaders who are perpetually angry seldom have truly fruitful and productive teams – ruling by fear is not the Way of Christ.

 

As for the second part of our verse, “but a wise man will appease it,” I think of Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” When anger is directed toward us, we do not have to respond in kind. In fact, Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek and to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who use us (Matthew 5:43 – 48).

 

When anger is allowed to burn itself out, when fuel is not heaped on the fire of anger to keep it flaming, hopefully the person spewing anger will exhaust himself. In the meantime it is a good opportunity to pray and seek wisdom as to how to thoughtfully engage the person who is angry.

 

Anger from others need not threaten the son or daughter of the Living God, for our identity is in Jesus Christ, He is our Rock and our Refuge, and He is our defense. We are called to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15a). Our confession is to be, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what will man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6; Psa. 118:6).

 

While others are venting anger, we can be praying and communing with our Lord Jesus, seeking His wisdom in the situation.

 

So as not to be misunderstood, I believe that we are called to protect others from evil, and that includes evil anger. It is one thing for me to bear the brunt of anger, it is another thing for me to witness others, whom I am responsible for, suffer as objects of ungodly anger. I have witnessed abusive situations both in church and in the workplace in which  those who were in authority did nothing to protect others, and then I have seen examples when those in authority did indeed protect others.

 

Well, these are some brief thoughts about a complex subject. If we will live under the lordship and authority of Jesus Christ we will live in a place of security and peace in Him, and hopefully we will be a blessing to others, no matter what our position may be in this world from time to time.

 

James 3:13 – 18.