Anger is on the rise. Anger is on the rise on our roadways, in our politics, in the lyrics of our music, on social media, and sadly, even in our homes. One of the fastest growing segments of homeless populations is women and children escaping domestic violence.
I grew up in an angry household. My dad had a quick temper, and my mother had a temper with a long memory. I had, or should I say, I have a temper also. I have learned to a certain extent to curb that temper, although it will still flare when I am stressed or tired.
Thoughtful spiritual growth is a theme in Ephesians 4. Amid Paul’s exhortation on spiritual maturing are his thoughts on anger. And they tell us three things. “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.” [Eph 4:26-28]
First thing Paul reminds us “In your anger do not sin.” Anger is an emotion, yes, but anger itself is not a sin. It is what we do with our anger. There is a righteous anger … like what I see stirring in the abortion debate. Jesus was described as angry at the hardness of people’s hearts, yet He was without sin. Anger, however, left unchecked or expressed the wrong way can become sin.
That is Paul second thought. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” In other words, deal with your anger immediately. Find healthy, spiritual ways of dispelling it. If you do not, anger will begin to take root, which leads us to Paul’s third warning … anger left unchecked gives “the devil a foothold” in your life.
I do not want to give one inch of my spiritual life to the devil, so I have learned, and am continuing to learn, to allow the Holy Spirit to show me how in my anger not to sin.
