Daily Scripture: Ephesians 4:26 Be angry, but don’t sin[Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:5(4)] — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; 27 otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.
Reflection Questions:As we saw in Mark 3:5, Jesus felt anger. Many evil things in this broken world should make us angry. But too often, we get angry about the wrong things. Just as challenging, anger often frightens us, so we repress it. In Inside Out, when Riley pushed aside her anger over moving, her emotions went awry. Then, when Anger took over the controls, she ran away from home and honesty. We must face and process anger in ways that avoid the pitfalls Ephesians 4:31 listed.
- Anger, in itself, is not bad—it is a basic human emotion. Ephesians said clearly that we can be angry without sinning. It also warned against “bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander.” One counselor said, “Bitterness is anger grown stale.” When have you seen a failure to honestly face anger (your own or someone else’s) be destructive in a relationship? How good are you at recognizing your anger, and then dealing with it promptly, constructively and honestly?
- Scholar N. T. Wright wrote, “People who are enslaved to anger and malice may think they are ‘free’ to ‘be themselves,’ but they are in bondage. If we are marked out by the Spirit’s personal presence living in us, think how sad it makes that Spirit if we behave in ways which don’t reflect the life and love of God.” Before you yell at that store clerk, post that tart response on a blog or berate your spouse, ask, “Does this give grace? Does it build up? Can I picture Jesus acting this way?”
Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, true evil made you angry, and you fearlessly faced up to it. But you took no delight in tearing down reputations, sharing juicy tidbits of gossip or shaming helpless servants. Help my way of living to reflect you well, even when I’m angry. Amen.
Insights from Darrell Holtz
Lord Jesus, true evil made you angry, and you fearlessly faced up to it. But you took no delight in tearing down reputations, sharing juicy tidbits of gossip or shaming helpless servants. Help my way of living to reflect you well, even when I’m angry. Amen.
Insights from Darrell Holtz
Darrell Holtz serves as Program Director for Group Life Curriculum and Writing at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
When I read today’s passage from Ephesians, I realized that, for a long time, I was clueless as to how to live it out. I knew that the letter said, “Be angry without sinning.” But when it said, “Put aside…losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander”–well, I didn’t know how it was possible to “be angry” without doing those things!
My father was, in so many ways, a good man–loved God, served as a missionary, spent his life teaching history and Bible to young people. But I can recall multiple occasions at the supper table on which he told us, rather proudly, about how he’d “blown his top” at a faculty meeting or board meeting about something with which he did not agree. Phrases like “Finally, I just let them have it” were pretty common. So I grew up with that as my picture of what it meant to be angry. What Ephesians was talking about seemed mysterious.
I was particularly adept, as I became an adult, at venting my anger at umpires and referees. One bad call (in my eyes) in the first inning or the first period of a hockey game, and I’d still be yelling about it toward the end of the game. My wife and son pleaded with me to settle down, and told me that my behavior embarrassed them–but I just replied that they didn’t understand the passion of a true fan.
Most of the growth in my life has come slowly, in small steps. But one night I took my teenage son to a Royals game. In the second inning, the inevitable “bad call” happened, and I was on my feet, screaming insults at the umpire. (From the second deck, I must add–there was no possible way he could hear me!) Suddenly I looked down, and saw my son huddled miserably in his seat, tears running down his face. And it hit me like a lightning bolt–“I love this boy so much, and I’m hurting him with this angry behavior. This has to stop.” I quit yelling, I sat down, I apologized to my son for my years of clueless, hurtful behavior. I had more growing to do–but from that night on, I realized that I can “be angry” without “losing [my] temper, anger, shouting, and slander.” I still get angry–sometimes for noble reasons (like human trafficking), sometimes for petty or selfish reasons. But I’ve learned that I can choose how I express and react to that anger.
And the rewards are great. Now my son invites me over to watch games with him, and we have a great time sharing the experience. He no longer feels afraid that his dad is going to lose it and spoil our time together. And I love those moments together.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
When I read today’s passage from Ephesians, I realized that, for a long time, I was clueless as to how to live it out. I knew that the letter said, “Be angry without sinning.” But when it said, “Put aside…losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander”–well, I didn’t know how it was possible to “be angry” without doing those things!
My father was, in so many ways, a good man–loved God, served as a missionary, spent his life teaching history and Bible to young people. But I can recall multiple occasions at the supper table on which he told us, rather proudly, about how he’d “blown his top” at a faculty meeting or board meeting about something with which he did not agree. Phrases like “Finally, I just let them have it” were pretty common. So I grew up with that as my picture of what it meant to be angry. What Ephesians was talking about seemed mysterious.
I was particularly adept, as I became an adult, at venting my anger at umpires and referees. One bad call (in my eyes) in the first inning or the first period of a hockey game, and I’d still be yelling about it toward the end of the game. My wife and son pleaded with me to settle down, and told me that my behavior embarrassed them–but I just replied that they didn’t understand the passion of a true fan.
Most of the growth in my life has come slowly, in small steps. But one night I took my teenage son to a Royals game. In the second inning, the inevitable “bad call” happened, and I was on my feet, screaming insults at the umpire. (From the second deck, I must add–there was no possible way he could hear me!) Suddenly I looked down, and saw my son huddled miserably in his seat, tears running down his face. And it hit me like a lightning bolt–“I love this boy so much, and I’m hurting him with this angry behavior. This has to stop.” I quit yelling, I sat down, I apologized to my son for my years of clueless, hurtful behavior. I had more growing to do–but from that night on, I realized that I can “be angry” without “losing [my] temper, anger, shouting, and slander.” I still get angry–sometimes for noble reasons (like human trafficking), sometimes for petty or selfish reasons. But I’ve learned that I can choose how I express and react to that anger.
And the rewards are great. Now my son invites me over to watch games with him, and we have a great time sharing the experience. He no longer feels afraid that his dad is going to lose it and spoil our time together. And I love those moments together.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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