July 8

Better Off Angry

It was comforting to see the fighter escort nearby, but, unfortunately, they would not be there long. As the

Luscious Lady flew further into France, Merlin Miller became more and more nervous at his tail-gun position. This was his second raid on Schweinfurt, deep in German territory, and he knew it would probably be as bad as the first. Alone with his thoughts, there wasn’t much to do other than anticipate what lay ahead. As the escorting P-47s peeled off, he went through a familiar mental exercise:

I said to myself, ‘Merlin, get mad, get angry.’ I started thinking about the Germans, what they were trying to do to us, what I was going to do to them, anything to stir up my blood and get anger coursing through my system, anything to take away from that feeling of fear I otherwise would have had. By this time I figured out that it was difficult for a person to feel two emotions at the same time. In combat I thought I was better off being angry than afraid.²⁷⁰

This airman’s strategy for dealing with fear was effective, and it is not uncommon to see athletes use the same approach as they try to get “psyched up” for a big game. However, we should consider war and football the exceptions rather the rule. Anger is usually a destructive emotion and counterproductive to solving our problems. It is always a bad idea to take action against others when upset. We need to be especially careful when we find ourselves with feelings of anger toward God. He is not the cause of our problems, but rather the solution. We are usually the problem. In our relationship with him, we are better off being afraid than angry.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

—Psalm 111:10