The Slow Burn That Burns You

"Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Not all anger is sinful. Paul acknowledges that. There is a righteous kind. In the Gospels, Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple at least twice, and the Bible describes Him as angry. He saw the corruption, everyone making money off God's people who were just trying to worship. Matthew 21:13 says, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." He was angry in the right way, at the right thing, in the right spirit. He was angry, but He did not sin.

He was also angry when parents tried to bring their children to Him and the disciples turned them away, treating it like childish business not worth His time. Jesus was angry and said in Matthew 19:14, "Don't forbid them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." That is righteous anger. It is real anger, but it is holy anger.

But be careful not to convince yourself that your temper is merely righteous indignation. The quick temper you carry, the slow burn you hold onto, may not be righteous anger at all. It may just be a lack of self-control. God's people should be governing those attitudes in their hearts and lives.

"Don't let the sun go down on your wrath" is not a literal statement about sunsets, as if to say, "Don't be angry as the sun is going down." There was a married couple who took it very literally and told their pastor, "We've tried hard not to go to sleep angry. We haven't slept in three weeks." The point is this: don't go to bed with unresolved anger in your heart. It won't just go away. It builds until it explodes. Deal with it.

Paul maps out the stages of unchecked anger in verse 31, which reads, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."
 

• Bitterness is the slow burn on the inside. 
• Wrath is when it turns active and outward.
• Clamor is when you become vocal, arguing and shouting.
• Evil speaking is when you begin to assassinate someone's character. "I hate you. You are just no good."
• And then there is malice, where it has built up so much that you actually desire to injure another person.

Hebrews 12:15 warns us not to let a root of bitterness take hold in our hearts. It's easy to stuff your emotions, push them down, bury them. But one man said that when you stuff your emotions, your body keeps score. Those toxic emotions don't stay buried.

God's people are called to forgive because Christ forgave them. Anything one person can forgive another in this life is nothing compared to what we've been forgiven of against a holy God. There is no comparison. Forgive as Christ has forgiven you. Deal with your anger before it deals with you.

Reflection Question: Is there a slow burn of bitterness or unresolved anger you've been burying instead of asking God to help you forgive?

Dear Heavenly Father, I don't want to give the devil a foothold through my anger. Help me deal honestly with what I'm feeling, bring it to You, and choose the path of forgiveness. Guard my heart against bitterness. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from: Enemy Access Denied (Ephesians 4:25-32): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/3vjtypj/17-enemy-access-denied-eph-4-25-32