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- Oct 26, 2007
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Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. Ephesians 4:31 NKJV
Anger is a tricky issue for Christian men. Chances are we get angry…some of us often. Many of us fear that our angry reactions are sinful, and we’re often disappointed with ourselves—perhaps to the point of questioning our salvation.
But reread today’s scripture. As a command, it implies that anger, in all its various forms, will sometimes arise in our hearts. The key is to “put away,” in a conscious act of obedience. And don’t overlook the imperative a few verses earlier, in Ephesians 4:26: “Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” The apostle Paul clearly states that there is an anger that’s not sinful—consider, for example, Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Of course, we are not Jesus, so we must deal with our own “wrath” by day’s end. There’s that conscious act of obedience again.
It seems that anger is much like any temptation—a regular visitor at the door of our hearts, not necessarily sin itself but something that must be turned away quickly. When we allow it in to stay, trouble will follow. As the Proverbs 29:22 says, “A furious man abounds in transgression”.
Prayer: Lord God, please help me to control my anger. Give me Jesus’ anger toward sin, but may I never sin in it.
Anger is a tricky issue for Christian men. Chances are we get angry…some of us often. Many of us fear that our angry reactions are sinful, and we’re often disappointed with ourselves—perhaps to the point of questioning our salvation.
But reread today’s scripture. As a command, it implies that anger, in all its various forms, will sometimes arise in our hearts. The key is to “put away,” in a conscious act of obedience. And don’t overlook the imperative a few verses earlier, in Ephesians 4:26: “Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” The apostle Paul clearly states that there is an anger that’s not sinful—consider, for example, Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Of course, we are not Jesus, so we must deal with our own “wrath” by day’s end. There’s that conscious act of obedience again.
It seems that anger is much like any temptation—a regular visitor at the door of our hearts, not necessarily sin itself but something that must be turned away quickly. When we allow it in to stay, trouble will follow. As the Proverbs 29:22 says, “A furious man abounds in transgression”.
Prayer: Lord God, please help me to control my anger. Give me Jesus’ anger toward sin, but may I never sin in it.
