Intro
In business school I was taught that one way to make advertising more effective is to arouse powerful negative emotions- such as anger or fear- prior to showing an ad to a viewer. This works by triggering responses which cause us to be particularly receptive to anything that might appear desirable, while greatly reducing the function of the part of our brain that processes judgement and discernment. I am calling this first blog post “The Anger Trap” because our near constant exposure to media in the connected world, and their use of this psychological tactic, are something that we as Christians will have to navigate.
Scripture
In His Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5:21-24 Christ said the following:
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
The Apostle Paul weighed in on anger in Ephesians 4:26-27, & 29-31
26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
And also in Colossians 3:8
8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
And James states in James 1:19-20
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Commentary
I had forgotten all about the correlation between anger and advertising until I experienced a life changing event. I relocated, and in the process decided to go without cable television. While living in Los Angeles I had been an avid watcher of cable news, but when I gave up cable and began to instead read my news I noticed something startling. Not only was I getting a lot more factual information, but I was also thinking more clearly and feeling much less reactive to what I was learning. I subsequently spent 4 months working out of state, began watching cable news again, and was stunned by how frequently the presentation of information was done in such a way as to arouse really strong negative reactions. The deluge of advertising after these negative messages was noticeable; furthermore, I also noticed that the effects on my emotions and frame of mind lingered long after I switched off the TV. This had a tendency to creep into my conversations, my social media posts, and my interactions in general.
Psychologists tell us that when we are angry, others are avoidant and less receptive to our messages- hardly a good foundation for sharing Christ with the world! I am not attempting to suggest that watching the news is a sin; however, if you have not tried this experiment may I suggest a two-week “anger fast” whereby you carefully monitor your exposure to negativity via television and social media, and instead- following Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:8;
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, please share.
Be blessed.
K
Our Eyes On Him 
Oh Kelly how true this is. We find ourselves getting frustrated and then angry because we cannot communicate properly to others what we want to tell people. We who are interrupting some one as they are speaking are not listening to the person who is speaking and not knowing what is being spoken. “I hear you” is so often said but they know not what was said. We must not be judgmental when we do not know the facts. This raises anger in the person who does not listen. Interruption is also in that category. It angers the one who is talking. We forget so easily about our own failures and push blame off to others.
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Very good points and scriptures! We must realize and remember that what we take into our minds through television, books, articles, movies etc. all have effects on us in many ways. We are advised numerous times in scripture to monitor carefully what occupies our thoughts and to feed so to speak on the right things. As simple as- what we take in is what develops and comes back out- usually and unfortunately through our mouths!
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