Move Away From Anger

Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.

Ephesians 4:26

A MAN TRIED TO DEFEND his bad temper by saying, “I explode, and then it’s over with.”

“Yes,” replied a friend, “just like a volcano—but look at the damage that it leaves behind.”

As Aristotle once wrote, “Any one can get angry . . . but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for every one, nor is it easy.”

“Don’t sin by letting anger control you,” says the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:26. God permits us to be angry on certain occasions. In other words, anger is not always sinful. But with the same stroke of his pen, Paul warns us not to let our anger lead us to sin. Anger can be so destructive because actions taken and words spoken in anger cannot be taken back, nor is the damage easy to repair.

The Holy Spirit within us lets us know when our anger becomes sinful. And it’s usually quite obvious to others. Bursts of temper resulting in rage, lack of control, the desire to hurt another person, and profanity are not righteous anger. Far from it.

So how can we be angry without sinning? In addition to praying for God’s help, there are some things we can keep in mind. First, we should attack the problem and not the person. Second, we should reprove without rejecting. And third, we should avoid using exaggerations like always and never.

BOTTOM LINE

Anger is a normal emotion, but we are responsible for how we handle it. We need the Spirit’s gift of self-control to help us deal with our anger.

Moment of Strength: Proverbs 29:11