How to Disarm an Angry Person

Justin Taylor posted the following over at his blog via the Gospel Coalition site. Helpful stuff from Ed Welch.

How to Disarm an Angry Person

Ed Welch talks here about how to respond when someone is sinfully angry at you. He ends with these practical-theological suggestions:

1. Don’t minimize the destruction of anger. You are getting shot at! Of course it hurts.
You are setting out to learn a disarming strategy that takes humility and love, and this is way over your head. As such, “Lord have mercy on me” is the order of the day.

2. Remember that angry people are blind to their own anger. They are the last to know that they are killing people. Instead, all they see is that they are right and others are wrong. Assume that they are spiritual lunatics.

3. Divest yourself of all the things you desire and cherish for yourself. Do you want love? Toss it and keep only the necessities, such as the desire to love. Do you need respect and understanding? It will only be an encumbrance. Get rid of it.

4. Move toward the angry person in love and humility. Fear runs away, anger attacks. Humility and love move toward. In a surprise attack they blindside angry people with weakness. Your timing will be important. Sometimes you can say something while the gun is aimed. Other times you will wait and speak later.

5. The person’s anger could have many reasons – you being one. But murderous anger is always wrong. At some point, from your place of love and humility, you will hold up the mirror and help angry people see themselves (Matthew 7:5).