"In your anger do not sin, when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 5. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." (NIV)
The emotion of anger is not a sin. When the doctor whacked our backsides to get us breathing, or whatever, we did not laugh, we cried, or rather we howled in fury. The first emotion that we express after we are born is anger. Anger becomes a sin when it becomes a part of who we are, when we never get over things that happen to us. I have known people who have been angry over things for years. I've had people express anger for another person as if what occured to cause the anger had happened yesterday. In reality it happened years ago. That's different from getting angry, expressing it and getting over it. The problem with hoarded anger is that it turns into malice. Malice is anger that has "gone to seed." When anger is held onto until it becomes malice, it becomes a lifestyle. That is when anger becomes a sin. Paul gave us another explanation of anger in Ephesians 4:26-27: "In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry; and do not give the devil a foothold." (NIV) When we hold onto our anger, Satan loves to help us keep it going. For example, when we see the person with whom we are angry, Satan will remind us of the reason we are angry, and we will relive the situation that caused the anger. The name "Satan" is synonymous with the word "sin." Whatever Satan has a hand in is sin - period. I think that "when you are on your bed, search your hearts and be silent" means to think about the anger, get rid of it and keep your mouth shut. This might be a shallow interpretation, but it works for me. Verse 5 completes the thought: "offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord." By New Testament standards, this means to turn your anger over to Jesus and trust Him to help you overcome it. Do not hold onto your anger. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|