Ephesians 4:26-27: (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not
give the devil a foothold.
We all get upset with our friends, and
family members once in a while which is completely human in its nature. I
personally have had to learn to confront anger and it is still an ongoing
process for me but this is a Word that started to carry meaning recently in my
life through a personal experience of mine of how infectious anger can become
if it is allowed to brew.
Firstly what is the definition of
anger?
Anger is described as a strong feeling
of annoyance, displeasure or hostility. So does that sound in any way like
traits coming from the Spirit of God? No. The Spirit of God gives love, joy,
peace, kindness forbearance, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self
control (Galatians 5:22-23). Anger is not a trait amongst the nine I have just
mentioned because it is a product of the flesh and hence it is a product of
destruction because the flesh leads to death. In fact anger is described as an act of the flesh because it is the
equivalent to fits of rage in
Galatians 5:20. It is an act because it
bears no fruit.
Anger leads to death because it comes
from the flesh and whatever comes from the flesh produces decay-which is why
you find when you are angry with someone, it leads to a lot of damage, through your words, actions,
thoughts and deeds-this is the nature of anger.
Now this is why the Word in Ephesians
4:26 says we should not allow the sun to go down while we are angry. What this
means is, we need to tackle anger once it crops up-there and then you need to
handle the issue because anger causes you
to sin. In other words, it leads to a lot of hurt, and it produces a
situation akin to discord because it is dangerous and damages relations.
The next verse is highly key, when we allow anger to grow because we do
not tackle it, we give the devil a foothold. Do you know what that means?
Remember those moments where you have
had a flood of fury against someone in your life? And there was a deep exchange
of vitriol? Have you ever tried to mend relationships that have been damaged
over a couple of days, months, years? Do you know how difficult it is to
navigate your way back from distrust, distaste and a general displeasure for
one another? The more you allow anger to inhabit your connection, the more it will change your communication because it
will cause confusion. Anger changes the environment of your relationships.
This is why when you have an argument with a good friend, and you don’t resolve
it immediately, when you try and resolve it, there’s a whole lot of back and
forth about who said what, and how words were misunderstood or miscommunicated-God is not the author of confusion-Satan is.
This is why the Word says, if you allow
the sun to go down on your anger, the
devil will have a foothold. You might as well have left the door to your
relationship open for attack-and the enemy will come in because:
1 Peter 5:8:(NIV)
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
But when you are alert, and sound in mind, which comes from
the Spirit who gives us power, love, and a sound mind. In other words, when you
exercise discipline, and learn to respond in love through your actions, anger
loses its spark.
The LORD gives love and when we respond
in love, it diffuses the situation:
Luke 6:27-30: (NIV)
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for
those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn
to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt
from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes
what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Now, here we are told to love our
enemies-why? Because it allows us to grow as people and it increases our
abilities to push forward in our personalities. When you exercise your faith
through deeds, you learn to love on people who either through their actions or
their words, mistreat you. This is why Luke 6: 29 says if someone slaps you on
one cheek you turn the other cheek. I never completely understood that Word
before-why would I want someone who slapped me to slap my other cheek? Why
shouldn’t I respond. And then I understood: If
someone hurts you through their actions, respond in a manner filled with love. Don’t
do the same thing back-two wrongs don’t make a right. Satan sows discord not
the LORD. So the more you yield to the Spirit, the desires of the flesh will
die! (Galatians 5:16)
Hence it may seem foreign to you the
concept of not retaliating but start to walk in faith through your deeds (James
2:17)-allow the fruits of the Spirit in you to increase by spending time with
the LORD and you will gain a spiritual radar for how to handle situations and
you will notice the LORD will change the way you view those situations (Romans
12:2).
He will change your heart-this is the
core point: when you start to walk with
the LORD, the way you view situations will change, and this will have a direct
effect on the fruits you bear and the relationships you keep.
You will even notice anger will begin
to lose its sting and thoughts that kept you captive in the flesh ie alcohol,
sexual immorality and so on will begin to lose their strength because darkness does not understand the light. (John
1:5). Your flesh cannot comprehend this transformation because it comes through the Spirit.
And He is the light (John 8:12)-so
accept Him first, and He will change your heart.
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God
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Tolu