September 27, 2024 – Ephesians 4:17–32  

“Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity. The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need. You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of G-d, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as G-d in Christ also forgave you.” Ephesians 4:25–32  

Be Angry? Be angry, Paul says — but then he gives a caveat—but do not sin! For some people of faith who have a highly sentimental feeling and view toward their religiosity, they may believe that any type of anger is a sin. Paul surprises us here by recognizing that anger has its place. He also says that it has its limits. Even those with a superficial knowledge of the Bible recognize that there are many references about people (even G-d) who are moved toward anger. The prophets (Amos for example) can hardly contain their outrage at the way the people of Israel have violated G-d’s covenant. G-d argues with Moses that G-d should smite the Israelites after the “Golden Calf” incident. Jesus was upset when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers — and when he encountered almost any form of self-righteous arrogance in religious leaders. And Paul himself was furious with the church in Galatians as it fell back into seeing the law as a way to please G-d (Galatians 3:1-3). Indeed, G-d may be slow to anger but this does not mean G-d is never angry. G-d gets upset — but even we know that, when love is betrayed, then there can be outrage. 

And yet we are supposed to be careful with our anger, as Paul warns the Ephesians not to “let the sun go down on your anger”. He recognizes that anger can quickly become obsessive, intrusive, infectious, and insidious. Instead of being upset over a thoughtless word or deed, we have a tendency to make it “personal” in a hurry. We nurse a grudge and cook up schemes for revenge. Once we have slipped into this realm we have opened the door for the devil. The well-being of the community then becomes secondary, and our main purpose is simply to get even. Thus, Paul reminds us of the need to let forgiveness have the last word “…be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as G-d in Christ also forgave you.”  

I guess what needs to be said is this: there is a place for all emotions in the church and the life of the believer. It is inevitable. But if we do not keep them in check, especially those that fall on the negative side of our emotions, then we allow Satan to work his ways with us.  

Pastor Dave