Ephesians Study
Chapter 4
Ephesians 4:26-27 Amplified Bible:
26 Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down.
This is beautiful! It is full of wisdom and truth. Notice that anger is not the problem. We can be angry about things and situations. Yet, do not sin because your anger can push you to dysfunction. We may observe things that upset us, but we do not want to internalize these things in our being…do not let the sun go down on anger because it becomes internalized. Do not allow anger to have mastery…becoming its slave.
From the place of observation to mastery, we have an opportunity for discernment. There is nothing to take personally. The moment we begin to take something personally, ask why. Why has this triggered me? It is one thing to say to not let the sun go down on our anger and another thing to discern that there is no need to internalize this anger. How do we do this? We have counsel in this verse. His bidding is His enabling. This will likely not be resolved at the intellectual level. It will come from the Spirit. The intellectual is defensive and argumentative. It is too concerned about “its rights.” Not so the Spirit. Internalized anger leads us to the next verse.
In the beginning, God asked a simple question: Who told you that you were naked? I suggest that since that time, we have felt that there was something wrong with us. and we have been in defense mode. We feel naked and inadequate. This is not something that God did. It came from the enemy.
27 And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness].
Here is the list of what happens when we let the sun go down on our anger. It is an opportunity for evil. It festers into something that holds us captive by becoming grudges, nurturing anger, resentment, bitterness. This is a progression of pain that results in a root of bitterness. We may pamper it by using the thoughts and words that it is not fair…that isn't right…and other judgements. These judgements keep us captive. They are saying that we would rather be “right” than be free / righteous.
Understand that it is the devil that is pushing the buttons on anger…that he is seeking an opportunity to enslave us. There is nothing to take personally. There is nothing to hold against anyone. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We wrestle against powers. The quickest way to victory is to know this. This is a type of seeing through the lens darkly. We may not see the whole picture, but we have The Word that gives us discernment…reading between the lines so to speak.
When we feel anger, rage, resentment or a shutting down emotionally (even passively), remember that these senses are opposite our faith. Our faith tells us we are a son//daughter of God. We are a redeemed child of God. Our feelings, when triggered, causes us to abandon the truth about who we are. The anger is due to some perceived threat to our identity. If our identity is in this world (people, places, things), then we are more likely to wear our feelings on our sleeve.
It is a practical application of scripture into life that helps us come up with “How To” guidelines. It is not that we want to make this a works orientation…that would be self-oriented. We want to take what faith we already have and the opportunity that is threatening us and grow in faith, knowledge, and truth. Honestly, it might seem easier just to kick into blame, shame, and guilting other people than to own up to our part in the drama. Always ask yourself: Why does this matter to me? You may have a really good answer, however, keep asking yourself: Why does this matter to me? At some point, your answer will take you back to yourself and not to the “other.”
It has taken a long time to write this post because I kept wrestling with the idea of our illusions versus abundance. The illusion is that we are lacking something or some knowledge. That was the temptation in the Garden of Eden. The abundance truth was that they had everything that they needed. The lie of not having enough (as good as others or better than others) or of not knowing enough (being threatened by fear of what we do not know or knowing the correct answer) drives us to respond in anger. It is directed outward to others when at its core, it is anger towards self for being inadequate.
The “How To” guidelines could be a list of behavior modification steps that we have probably all seen before. Changing the behavior does little for changing the heart. Living from a place of abundance covers the having, doing, and being of who were are in Christ. We think of abundance as a measurement of prosperity. That is not true abundance. True abundance is gratitude in the moment. All we really have is that…one moment at a time.
