We all like praise and applause and kudos and pats on the back for a job well done. It feels good to be acknowledged, to be validated for your labor, to be recognized and rewarded. And there's nothing wrong with being honored for an accomplishment, or for honoring others. It's polite. A social nicety that helps take the sting out of the hardships of human life.

Everybody is mad at somebody (or something) these days.
Angry, infuriated, incensed, offended.

The air is filled with gloomy discourse, frustrated ranting, and a lot of finger-pointing.

And I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

But here's a word of caution: The primary definition for the word mad is "to be mentally deranged; irresponsible; irrational... disorderly; ill-advised." Mad, the way we use it casually to describe a state of anger, is merely a colloquialism. But it's a colloquialism that came from somewhere.

"Mad" causes us to lose perspective.

When we yield ourselves to feelings and thoughts of anger, offense, and hatred, it makes us "go mad." We lose perspective. We make foolish, stupid mistakes. We speak (and act) irrationally and irresponsibly.
 
So check your heart. Who are you mad at? The government, rich people, poor people, fat people, skinny people, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Catholics, the media, big oil, big business, small business, Toyota, Ford, GM, Wall Street, Democrats, Republicans, your next-door neighbor's dog who keeps pooping in your grass, the woman smacking her gum in your ear during church, your husband who keeps making weird breathing noises while you're trying to read, the kid who opened the new jar of mayonnaise and then put it in the pantry instead of the refrigerator. Start digging around in there and you'll find all sorts of pockets of peevishness!

And it isn't all right.

"For man's anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires.]" James 1:20 Amp.

Nope. The fact that you've "got your mad on" won't produce good things. It won't promote righteousness (right living, right acting, right standing with God).

Now I've got to go and forgive all the people I'm mad at for being mad about something.
(sigh)

I'm not thinking about war in Iraq or Afghanistan, or even Vietnam or Korea or WWII. This song, every time I hear it, makes me think about the internal skirmishes we have between flesh and spirit, the battle for control or power or authority in relationships.

“What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?”

James 4:1 The Amplified Bible

 “You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled: [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] you burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war...”

(James 4:2a)