It's okay to be mad

"I'M ANGRY!" When you're mad, your face is red, your feet stomp the floor, and you probably don't talk -- you yell! But when you calm down, how do you feel?

Some kids feel guilty or embarrassed for getting angry. They think it's not okay to feel angry when something bad happens, or that if you feel it, you shouldn't say it. But even Jesus got angry. In this week's Gospel (John 2:13-25), He shows us that letting your angry feelings out can help you feel better -- and make changes.

Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem and couldn't believe what He saw there. People were selling animals right in the temple and even making others pay money to get in! Jesus made a whip and drove them all out of the temple, turning over the tables of money and saying, "Stop making my Father's house into a marketplace!"

When you're angry about something, you don't think about anything else. You want to yell and scream and kick, and you don't like people telling you to calm down!

Imagine how angry Jesus must have been to see people using the temple, their church, like a mall! How could they be so disrespectful to God? He yelled at them and threw them out. Jesus didn't want to calm down, either.

After you're done being angry, you might feel ashamed for being so loud and mean. You wonder if maybe you could have said how you felt and been nice about it, instead of angry.

Do you think Jesus wondered the same thing? It must have been hard for Him to tell people every day to love God, and then find them being mean to God and making each other pay to go to church. There are different ways to act when you're angry. Some kids hit people and call them names; others hit pillows and go off alone to yell. In the Gospel, Jesus showed us that it's okay to be angry, to tell people why and to ask them to change. Then you can be proud of your angry feelings, because they helped instead of hurt people!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, teach me to talk about my angry feelings, instead of feeling bad about them! Amen.

(02-27-97)

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