Day 367 · Year 2 · Life with God
Be angry, and do not sin
Paul does not forbid anger. He tells you what to do with it.
Today's passage
Ephesians 4:26-27
26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
27and do not give the devil a foothold.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Notice Paul does not say 'never feel anger.' Anger at injustice can be holy; even God feels it. The danger is what comes next: nursing it, polishing it, letting the sun go down on it day after day. Paul says that opens a door to the devil. The fastest way to close that door is honesty — with God, and where wise, with the person involved. Ask God to show you what is under the anger. Often it is hurt, or fear, or a violated value. Bring that to him, not just the heat.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
John Chrysostom · Latin & Eastern Doctors · 4th–5th c. · Antioch/Constantinople
John Chrysostom preached often on the tongue and the temper, urging believers to take the heat of anger to God in private before it scorches the people they live with.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What does Paul allow, and what does he forbid, in verse 26?
- Why does he link unresolved anger to 'giving opportunity to the devil'?
- What anger has been carrying over from day to day in you?
A prayer to pray
Tell God plainly what you are angry about. Ask him what is underneath it. Ask him for the courage to close the door before night.