Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Guide” is titled “Little Times of Trouble”. Domestic conflict can affect any of us. Especially when our own ego is involved and rises to the surface. Our quarterly addresses different aspects of this conflict and its resolution in this week’s lesson. A good lesson to study and meditate upon. For this week’s “Thought” I’d like to focus on the topic for Tuesday… “The Role of Anger in Conflict”. It uses our memory verse for the week as its springboard for study.
Ephesians 4: 26-27 says, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil”. This text has been used by many well-meaning Christians to imply it is OK to be angry… as long as you don’t “sin” in the process. That in this text, God realizes who we are, He knows us and realizes that it is quite impossible for Him to restore the divine image in mankind, that He cannot give us victory. So He just endorses our anger and tries to mitigate the damage anger can do. I must admit, I find this interpretation of “be angry” as rather insulting and shallow. Elsewhere in scripture, we are told that anger is to murder, as the acorn is to the oak… as this quote from Christ so states; “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5: 21-22 NRSV). So in the text from Ephesians, is Paul enjoining anger… endorsing anger? This must not be for he would be contradicting Christ. In this text, Paul is quoting Psalms 4:4. Let’s take a look…
“Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still”. In this we see a different emphasis than the spurious one some Christians place on the text in Ephesians. The emphasis is on what to do about the anger. You meditate on it and reconsider, with the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct. In Psalms 4:4 it is evident that anger is not a good thing. We see it in this Psalm as the sin it is. To be avoided, shunned, conquered. Not something endorsed, but something to overcome through the power of God Himself. If we see anger as acceptable to God, we will never see it for the sin it is. We will never see the latent cause of anger that lies deep in our hearts… “murder” as Christ says. We will just accept our anger and try to mitigate the fall-out by keeping our mouth shut. Not a recipe for victory.
Later verses after Ephesians 4: 26-27 show Paul’s intention is not to justify anger in any way. In fact, he endorses, even commands, that there be no anger at all. “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4: 29-32). And other translations of Ephesians 4: 26-27 supports the idea that anger is sin, not something to be tolerated:
- NIV – “’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.”
- Phillips – “If you are angry, be sure that it is not out of wounded pride or bad temper. Never go to bed angry—don’t give the devil that sort of foothold.”
- NLT – “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
It saddens me that any Christian would interpret any scripture as being tolerant of our sin… or even endorsing any sin… like anger. Refuting Christ’s own statement of the facts. We sinners are so prone to misinterpret scripture to fit our own sinful nature. Let us stop doing this. We need to see that Christ yearns to give us complete victory and complete healing over all that besets us. And let us stop minimizing the work of God in our lives. He is able. We need only be willing.
With brotherly love,
Jim