A number of years ago, I was working on a project for my job. I had to meet with a number of individuals to relay financial information to them. This meeting was to be held after analyzing institutional forms and all documentation related to those forms.
One of my co-workers, a man on the same level of authority as I, decided that he did not want me to have these meetings without him. The information was extremely confidential, and those in authority over both of us had instructed me to meet with these individuals without anyone else being present. This was to protect the confidentiality of the information.
This co-worker was so hostile about the entire situation that he stormed into my office, screamed at me, and doubled his fists as though he was going to hit me. I backed away, walked behind my desk, and asked the man to leave. I was shocked at his behavior since he had never acted that way toward me or anyone else.
Anger does strange things to people. Anger, itself, is not wrong. We know this because of Paul’s statement to the Ephesians. He said, “Be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV).An individual can be angry, but things associated with anger can cause one to sin.
Paul was instructing the Ephesians about living a new life. He wanted them to be different from the Gentiles and from their continuing to behave like the Gentiles behaved.
The description he gives of the Gentiles is not a pretty picture. They were dark in the way they understood things. They were alienated from God because of their ignorance. They were like this because their hearts were hardened. Because of these qualities, the Gentiles had become a greedy people and full of impurities.
These Ephesians had learned about Christ, and Paul wanted them to change their ways, change their minds, and be new and different. He wanted them to be different.
So let’s examine some aspects of anger:
First, what is anger? The dictionary defines anger as “a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.” That is probably a different definition than what we think of as anger. This definition is much broader than being loud, screaming profanity at someone, or threatening them.
The next question is, about what can I be angry? We should be angry about the same things that angered Jesus. What made Him angry?
In Mark 3, Jesus went into the synagogue. There was a man there with a withered hand. This man had a hand that had dried up and was unusable. It was the Sabbath, and the Jews were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal this man on the Sabbath, violating their laws.
Jesus knew their hearts, and He looked at them with anger. The text says, “And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” (Mark 3:1).
Jesus was angry because these people just wanted to find fault with Him. They had no compassion for the man who needed to be healed.
On two occasions, Jesus drove moneychangers out of the temple (John 2 and Mark 11). Neither incident says Jesus was angry, but He made a whip and “drove them out” in Mark. He overturned tables and ran the animals out of the temple. I doubt He did this with a smile on His face.
I believe from these examples we should expect to be angry about injustice of a person in need and in the case of theft and other kinds of dishonesty. Both of these fit the description of the Gentiles—their greed and the practice of impurity found in Ephesians 4.
Our final question is this. How can we be angry and not sin? The answer is found in the last verses of Ephesians 4:
“…do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Verse 26).
“…give no opportunity to the devil” (Verse 27).
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths” (Verse 29).
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Verse 31).
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Verse 32).
I think the words of the psalmist give us a most appropriate instruction concerning anger. “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil” (Psalm 37:1).
Sandra Oliver