“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26,27)
Anger is an issue. not just in our world, but also in the Christian Church. Several relationships and friendships have fallen apart as a result of angry behavior. It has divided up congregations, cost people their careers, damaged and scarred many friendships. The majority of us discovered early on that the proverb "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" was untrue. Especially when they are uttered in rage, words can wound, crush, and hurt.
Paul's admonition, "Be ye angry, and sin not," in Ephesians 4:26, sounds perplexing in view of how serious this issue of anger is all about. Why does Paul urge anger among believers? This literal instruction is taken from Psalm 4:4. Paul alludes to Psalm 4 in order to argue that even though Christians should occasionally be angry, we must be careful that this anger does not turn into sinful rage. There is a narrow line between allowing our wrath to boil over into an out-of-control reaction and being so docile that we disregard sin.
Remember that Paul is giving us explicit instructions on how to discard our old lifestyle and put on the newness of Christ Jesus in this letter. Not becoming angry over sinful things is one of the traits of the world. The carnal man sees sin as the cause of human destruction yet does nothing. This lack of faith is not from God.
God expresses His wrath against sin because He detests it. God would not be loving or righteous if He did not hate sin since it harms people. Hence, if we want to be godly people, we also need to abhor sin. This starts with the sin in our own lives and continues with the injustice and sin we witness in the outside world. Paul cautions us, however, that in our righteous wrath, we must take caution not to commit sin and give the devil a chance.
Prayer: Blessed Father, I am aware that You hate sin. I am also aware of Your passion and love for people. Please give me Your righteous wrath against all sin and Your abiding love and compassion for everyone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
