On the eve of our inquisition, I found an article on Credenda Agenda by Doug Jones entitled, “The Art of Pettiness“. Sometimes, when I cry out to God about how unfair my life is, my complaint is that I can’t write this well.

I encourage you to read the whole thing so you can sharpen your skills at being offended… unless, of course, you’re ironically-impaired, in which case, I would encourage you to stay away from the article, or anything else associated with a strong faith. Also, don’t read the Screwtape Letters…

At times, you might accidentally stumble across the fact that you’ve sinned against someone. You need to recognize this before someone else brings it to your attention. Before it becomes explicit, you need to get angry and defend something else. Anger is a sign of righteousness. God is often indignant with His people. Anger can be used to remind people implicitly that, though you might have some flaws, just like everyone else, they are forgetting the fundamental goodness you’ve shown everywhere else. A good show of anger will make others return to their former state of gratitude for all you’ve done. Be sure, though, that when you see other people getting angry that you try to imagine the sin they’re hiding. That person is your secret ally; don’t expose him. Anger is a wonderful cover for sin, though the masses haven’t picked up on this yet.