Ephesians 4:25-27: Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "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.
Earlier, I took a couple of articles and focused on the phrase speaking the truth in love. This passage begins with the necessity of putting off falsehood, and then speaking truthfully with your neighbor.
Putting off falsehood requires more than telling truthful facts all the time. The key is not to tell Mrs. Smith her hair looks terrible, when she asks you how you like her new perm. Rather, the key is to put off the vocabulary and the actions which do not conform to the Word of God, and to begin to speak with your neighbor in harmony with the truth of the Word of God.
For example speaking truthfully with your neighbor does not mean that you should tell your neighbor all the dirt that you learned on your other neighbor who lives down the street. Actually, speaking truthfully, or speaking in line with the Word of God, will require that you NOT spread the gossip about the other neighbor. Yes, it is certainly true that we should never lie. But, speaking truthfully sometimes requires silence, not more words.
Paul states that we are the members of one body. When we speak and act contrary to the truth, then we are harming ourselves and the entire body of Christ. But, when we speak truthfully in line with the Word of God, we are building up the body of Christ.
Then Paul speaks about anger. There is a place for righteous anger. Jesus displayed this righteous anger when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple. Mark 3:1-6 tells the story of Jesus healing the man in the synagogue with the shriveled hand on the Sabbath. The Jews were watching him closely to see if Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath. Jesus perceived the wrong attitude of their hearts, and Mark says in verse five that Jesus looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
When you are angry at injustice, it can produce the fruit of good works in your life. However, righteous anger is a difficult emotion to maintain. When most of us become angry, sin crouches at the door to pounce on us. In reality most of us know little about being angry and not sinning. Usually, we are angry and we allow that anger to produces words, emotions and actions that are contrary to the Word of God.
Paul knew that is the common human experience, so he instructed us, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Since the emotion of anger is usually associated with strife for most of us, it is of the utmost importance that we do not allow that anger to fester. If anger is allowed to run free, then the result will be to give the devil a foothold into your life. The command is clear to deal with anger before the sun goes down, or before the day ends, or in other words, deal with anger as quickly as possible.
I found an excellent article on the internet that deals with this topic. I want to cut short my article, and encourage you to click the link to this article from a Canadian writer. Her article is excellent. Dealing With Anger by Debra Fieguth
May God's grace be upon us to use anger appropriately, and to not allow anger to open the door into our lives for the devil to establish a foothold.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org