Matthew 5:20-26

It is easy to get angry, because anger is a feeling that rises when we think we are faced with an evil that is difficult to overcome. Thus if we think someone wants to harm us, our actions will be guided by anger. There is a problem, though: We get angry about things that are not really an evil in themselves, but only an evil for us. When we want silence, any noise gets us angry. When we are hungry, an empty refrigerator gets us angry. Jesus goes as far as to teach that killing a man and getting angry with him are analogous evils. This is because our tendency to anger lies in self-centeredness, and when we are angry with a person, we treat him in a way that denies his dignity.