When Angry, Sin Not!

When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]. ~ Ephesians 4: 26-27

Anger is a natural emotion we all have from time to time. Even the most placid amongst us feel anger at times. It’s not exactly wrong to feel anger, after all Jesus displayed anger when he drove out the moneychangers. I believe it’s all in how we handle our anger.

If we respond to people and situations in an explosion of angry words and gestures, ranting and raving, then that expression is obviously the wrong way – it’s merely ‘venting’ the anger. When we do this, it’s the people around us that get hurt the most.

How, then, do we deal with anger?

I’m still on the journey of discovering how to not react out of anger. One thing I believe God has spoken to me concerning this, is the scripture in Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger”. It dawned on me one day, that if I respond in a ‘gentle tone using gentle words’, it will squash the anger inside. You see, when we ‘vent’ our anger it’s never ‘gentle’. It’s often loud, blunt, and hurtful with words that we wouldn’t normally use. Responding in this way set’s a pattern for how we respond, when angry, in the future – and on it goes! This is why I believe we are not to let the sun go down while we’re still angry.

By M.S.Lowndes

Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). ~ Ephesians 4: 31