Can anger really bring a change?

Anger is a terrible emotion if it can't be controlled but anger for me is a necessary tool. It's not needed every time but it sure comes in handy other times.

^{Image by Peter Forster}

I have been a victim of bullying most of my childhood so I was a really sad child. Growing up I harboured a lot of hate and pain in me and this resulted in a very fierce temper. I hated when people tried to treat me badly and I was very much ready to always fight which I sometimes did. All of these were secondary school events.

I had graduated and started working in a school with people who were way older than I am so there was no way I could fight people over there. I did face lots of challenges which I learnt a lot from.

Two great instances were a case with the vice principal and a fellow teacher. The vice principal made it a point of duty to always take out some money out of my little salary for no valid reason. We always received extra payment for afternoon lessons at the end of the term. The money often came with fractions since it was dependent on the number of pupils a teacher had in her class, the amount was never fixed. Now each time I was to be paid, he'll give me part of my money and take part with the claim that he doesn't have change and he will give me later. I will keep asking and eventually he would get upset that I'm disturbing him and he would make it look like I'm so greedy for money so I would leave it. This happened thrice and I decided it was enough. I told him I would report him to the proprietor if I don't see my balance. He got upset and said I insulted him over a small amount of money, I got upset too and explained it's been happening for too many times. He angrily gave me my money and that's how the issue was resolved.

The issue with a fellow teacher was over a misunderstanding of something the teacher misheard. She thought I said something about her which I didn't but before I could explain myself she insulted me and called me names. It happened on the school's closing day so parents witnessed it and I felt so small and ashamed. It was quite embarrassing. I was the youngest staff there so I tried to keep calm.

But it seemed like the teachers used this to belittle and insult me. A few days later the vice principal had called me and the other teacher and asked me to apologize to her. It didn't make sense to me but I was willing to do as I was told until I heard the teacher threaten to slap me over something I posted on my WhatsApp status which she felt was directed to her. I lost my cool and we got into a heated verbal fight. I was so upset and I listed all instances I was treated badly just because I am young. She threatened to slap me, I threatened to slap her too. The teacher started tearing up and it was so funny to see.

Since that day, nobody dared insult me in the school. That's when I realized that it's okay to be outspoken sometimes. If you don't defend yourself when people try to bully you, it will give them more power to do so but once you stand up for yourself, they'll begin to respect you knowing that you are not afraid of them.

Apart from expressing anger physically, anger in the place of prayer hits differently. When you're praising God, thanking him, you pray in soft sweet tones but when you're trying to cast out demons, bind principalities and powers, you pray angrily 😂 Joke apart, there's a difference between thanksgiving and spiritual warfare. I feel in order for certain prayers to be answered you have to show you're serious about it. You must act like you know what you're doing.

In my opinion, anger can be a great tool to achieve certain changes. In our present world where a lot of people are trying to take advantage of others, it is necessary to express your anger when situations are becoming unbearable but one has to be wise about using this tool. Know when to flare up and when to stay cool and be sure you're not out of control when you're acting in anger. Anger can be really dangerous.