How can anger be useful for spiritual development?

Anger at the right things can be very motivating.

I grew up thinking anger should be avoided at all costs (repressed), but of course that's not right. Jesus Himself gave us a great example of the right kind of anger when He made whips out of some cords and chased the shysters out of the temple, calling them theives.

My rule of thumb is, if I'm angry about something, to make sure I'm angry at situations or actions, not people. I've found that way too often, when I'm angry at people, I find out later that they are hurting and in need of healing, and not "just hateful" as I assumed.

So if I'm angry at injustice, it can motivate me to work for justice. If I'm angry at a person who is unjust, I usually just work for his undoing instead of for justice in general, and that's not good.

Most anger stems from confusion, figure out what is confusing, and deal with it. There has got to be some development of some sort in doing that, spiritual or otherwise.

Anger is a lack of love and an increase in fears. Spirituality is found in love not anger.

Anger is a messenger; when we feel it, we know something's wrong. Those who ignore it do so at their own peril.

I REALLY wish some of the folks who answered this would get it through their heads that anger is NOT hatred. Get those two mixed up, and you are in SERIOUS trouble.

Anger can force you to look deeper within yourself. If you want to truely learn then you try to understand where the anger came from.

Anger against sin, (our own) can motivate us to change for the better. Anger against others only hurts us.

Hey Jon! Good answer!

Anger is pure energy. Few other emotions can rake up so much motivation. All it needs is to be channeled right, in order to become constructive.

It can only be useful if you use it to focus your minds on positive thoughts. Tibetan Buddhists are pacifists yet they use a philosophy that translates as "wild woman" that seeks to emulate the aggression that a mother would use to protect her child if it were in danger. They are harnessing that aggression and using it in a positive way by focusing it to help them attain enlightenment.

It can't. You have eliminate it to get anywhere.