Friday, June 5, 2020

What Not to Flare Up About- and Righteous Anger

Ephesians 4:26 "Don't become so angry that you sin." Interesting translation. I wonder if that's the NLT maybe? Other translations render it as "In your anger do not sin." Great Bible verse to remember (As they all are. ;-))
   I suppose either way though there is an implication that there is an acceptable level of anger to have at times. It is entirely possible to be rightfully angry and not sin. Surely Jesus demonstrated that when He turned over the moneychangers' tables, made a whip and chased them out of the temple. He was angry that God's temple was being defiled, which was a righteous anger.
    By comparison, we also read about Jonah's anger at God's choice to have mercy upon Nineveh and relent from the calamity He had promised to send. Jonah is also angry and frustrated about the death of the plant that had provided him shade from the sun. God questions him about this in chapter 4 and asks him if he has any right to be angry. Jonah says he does and that he's angry enough to die. God then points out his sinful anger and selfishness at mourning the death of a plant that sprung up overnight and then died but having such indifference about 120,000 people who don't know their left from their right who were perishing in their sin. Surely God should be concerned about them as should Jonah!
    We should not get angry out of selfishness based on our own prejudices. Instead, we should be angry at injustice and sin.
And as this same passage in Ephesians 4 says, when we are angry with others, we need to find a good way to resolve it while it is still called today. Don't let it fester into a root of bitterness and don't let the sun go down on our anger.
    Reconciliation is reflective of God's heart and it's what we should strive towards as well.

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