Ephesians 4:26 says:
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
This was the verse my mother reminded me everytime i would lose my temper as a kid and also as a teenager. She tried to instill in me the need to calm myself down and think through a situation, and hopefully come to a resolution before I would go to bed at night.
When we remember God, and his character, we see too that there are times when his anger is aroused. But in all those situations, his anger is justified – he is always just in his anger.
But we, for the most part, find that our anger is arouse more so by frustrations in a situation, perceived injustice towards us, selfish ambition, or unforgiveness and bitterness.
I’m reminded of Psalm 4.
Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame [a] ?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods [b] ?
Selah
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.
In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Selah
Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.
Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.
Ephesians 4 echoes this Psalm, reminding us not to sin while angry. But perhaps even more so, it asks us to search our hearts and be silent.
It seems our anger, when brought into the righteous light of God, begins to be refocused. Amazing how just some time to think, and reflect on things from the eyes of our saviour Christ can turn our anger into peace.
-bert han
This was the first of our series on Issues of the Heart. You can find the entire series at the BCEC Sermon Page or listen to last week’s sermons directly – Anger.