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.
Ephesians 4:26 NIV
God in his graciousness has given us humans a whole spectrum of emotions to sense our world and make our lives much richer. Love, joy, hope, fear, concern, peace, and anger are just a few of the emotions that might come to mind. Jesus was angry about the money changers in the temple and the fact that His Father's house was being turned into a marketplace. As a result of his anger, the tables were turned upside down and the money changers were driven out.
Anger is an emotion that we sometimes have difficulty with. Perhaps some synonyms might help: Fury, implies strong feelings aroused by a wrong; Indignation, implies deep and justified anger; Rage, is vehement anger. Anger is an emotion and here today in our reading we understand that God understands we will, at times be angry.
Anger, when expressed correctly can be a good emotion to shepherd others, to express strong feelings and to vent thoughts.
Anger, if wrongly and not thoughtfully expressed can be a source of division and resentment. In fact, anger can lead us to sin in many ways. For this reason we are cautioned not to sin in our anger and to not give the devil a foothold. In addition, anger is not to be nurtured or carried with us, for we are advised not to let the sun go down on our anger.
It has been said that depression is anger turned inward. As a result, carefully expressing one's anger may in fact be healthy.
How can anger be constructively expressed?
How do you express your anger?
Pray that the Spirit give you constructive ways to express your feelings of anger.
In Christ,
David P
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