Sinless Anger

In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. – Ephesians 4:26

Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the greatest writers and poets in American history said, “Every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” Not only do I agree with that statement, but I will candidly admit I have given up a lot of time of peace of mind.

I can get angry, and I know I am not the only one. Thankfully, God’s Word has a lot to say about anger. In the book of Ephesians, Paul gives a prescription for those of us who are temper challenged to practice divine anger management. For many of us, by the grace of God, it can be done, it should be done, and it will be done if we will take three steps. Let’s talk about this first step today, and then we’ll cover the other two steps tomorrow.

The first step we should take if we want to practice godly anger management is to express sinless anger. Now the first two words of today’s key verses may actually shock you; they do me. He simply says, “Be angry.” It may surprise you to know that is an imperative verb. It is not a request. It is a command.

There are things that should make us angry and there are times that we should be angry, so let it be said immediately that sin and anger are not necessarily the same thing. It is not always a sin to be angry. In fact, if it is always a sin to be angry, then Jesus was a sinner because Jesus (as we know) on several occasions got angry. God is a God of love, but He is also a god of anger. Sometimes, one of the godliest things you can do is to be angry.

The truth of the matter you are going to see is this – either you will control your temper, or your temper will control you. When your temper gets the best of you, it will always reveal the worse of you. So, make sure when you get angry you are expressing sinless anger.

Dear Lord, I only want to get angry if it means being sinlessly angry. Help me to know the difference between sinless anger and sinful anger so that I might honor you with my feelings, emotions, and reactions. In Jesus’ name, amen.