The Spirit of Wrath
Wrath is contagion and will be the end of us all
Learning to emotionally regulate our feelings is an important part of developing as healthy humans, and for amny who have participated in toxic relationships with a narcissist or psychopath, figuring out how to accept our feelings, honor them, bless them for what they teach us, and to successfully manage them is a critical piece if not the main part of recovery after abuse.
But what happens when we fail to regulate our emotions such as fear, shame, frustration, or pain? It can also result from stress, unresolved grief, trauma, adverse childhood experiences, ongoing struggles like ancestral trauma or oppression, feelings of helplessness, or a mental illness.
Wrath can best be defined as uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage, and even hatred. Wrath often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance.
Wrath is the exhibition of an enraged sinful nature and is therefore always inexcusable. It is for this reason that people are forbidden to allow anger to display itself in their lives. Biblically, we are not to “give place unto wrath”, nor must we allow “the sun to go down upon our wrath” (Ephesians 4:26).
Wrath often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance. Natural, healthy anger becomes the dangerous destructive emotion of wrath when it is directed against an innocent person, when it is unduly strong or long-lasting, or when it desires excessive punishment against a person or group of people.
Wrath has become contagion in our world.
Look around. The actions of our fellow humans speak louder than any explanation, excuse, justification, rationalization, or blame.
There is a feeling of discontent, frustration, helplessness, and rage that permeates every nook and cranny of our contemporary society. All systems seem to be failing. Not from outside attack or bad actors as much as from the inside out. Abraham Lincoln made his famous speech about how a house divided will fall, and that is exactly what we are seeing. Instead of working together to achieve goals, solve problems, and grow together, we hold contempt and a rage so potent that it can not be diluted.
It may not be foreign entities that take us down. It may be our own wrathful nature that compels us to feel such hatred for those who do not agree with our point of view. And it is that extreme polarization, myopathy, and arrogance that will take us down. If we stand divided, a number of horrible things can befall us and we can do nothing to fight back. TI’m he powers that be who want to subjugate the masses make sure that we saty inflammed and outraged so we can be easily controlled without resistance. Just a flapping of gums and waving of guns and no ability to affect change or solutions through compromise, mediation, and collaboration.
And then there are those among us who weaponize religion and use their own personal Jesus to justify their wrath. As a Christian, I know I am an imperfect sinner who is intrinsically flawed, and I pray for mercy and grace every single day. People do stupid, crazy things. Life is messy sometimes. So if we vilify and demonize these people who may do foolish things or believe the wrong people.
Luke 6:27–28: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
And I’m pretty sure that if you poke around a little and dig adeeper, you can find scripture to support all kinds of positions.Do believers serve a wrathful God to be feared and emulated by righteous anger, or do believers worship a gentler more forgiving God by emulating His Son, Jesus and forgiving all those who offend us and loving our enemies?
Proverbs 24: “ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: 25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. 26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.”
The bottom line is that wrath kills. Anger is a poison that chews and gnaws and eats us from the inside out until be crumble.
It’s important to know what you can control and what you cannot. Pitch in, roll up your sleeves, be a helper, stay solutions oriented, foster a growth mindset, and be kind. We don’t really know why someone is a nit-wit or half-wit or dim-wit or whatever. So leave it alone and stay in your lane. It is there that you can pray for them with forgiveness, charity, and kindness in your heart.
Wrath can be a manifestation of mental health disorders and diseases. Cluster B disordered people like narcissists and psychopaths are known to carry envy, bitterness, and contempt towards everyone at all times. They may cover it with a sugary sweet coat of sugar dipped in sprinkles, but beneath the sickeningly saccharine sweetness, there is disgust and disrespect for other humans. In fact, they don’t actually acknowledge them as humans at all. Narcissists and psychopaths objectify others and internalize them so that they do not exist as real separate people with rights to have their own unique view of the world and perspectives about life.
The mentally ill carry rage in their inner core that grew in intensity over years of sickness, trauma, lack of intervention or appropriate treatment, and a life filled with people who did not protect them from danger and only created dangerous situations for them. They have quite a lot to be angry about, but the problem is that it amplifies mental health issues and exacerbates conditions that might otherwise have remained in the background. Their inability to process and resolve the harm they have experienced can follow them for a lifetime, informing their decisions and behvior, fueling failed relationships, and preventing them from leading healthy, happy lives.
There are so many reasons for the pervasive growth of anger in the modern world. How can a person recovering from narcissistic abuse hope to manage such a tide of injustice and harm, and subsequently, the tsunami of uncontrollable rage? Just as the narcissist invariably feels contempt for the threatening world around, their victims, most also figure out what to do with the copious amounts of rage that invariably follows a brutal and ruthless discard. It is a normal part of recovery, but it is important not to get stuck there. We let it pass through, and then we let it go with acceptance and understanding of how it served us to move forward.
The world is increasingly impacted by narcissists and psychopaths, and these amoral, remorseless, arrogant titans are moving us closer every day to WW III, planet disasters, crimes against humanity, and many other extinction level events without concern for collateral damage or long term destruction.
It is more important now than ever to retain our humanity and not devolve into animals who can only react with brute force. We, unlike the Cluster B living dead, must figure out how to affect change and preserve our principles and integrity without physical or verbal aggression or attack. It is time to transform ourselves into better humans and learn to act with kindness and respect instead of hostility and force. If we continue to surrender to anger, the world is in trouble and the soul will wither. Creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and the power of thje mind must develop exponentially faster than our anger, desperation, and fear.
Put down your weapon. You possess a much more powerful way to defeat evil. Go within, then come together.
Are you or a loved one recovering from a relationship with a narcissist, sociopath, or pschopath? Let me eduate, infor, support, amnd inspire you on your journey with my free podcast channel, articles, and YouTube channel.
