"BE ANGRY AND DO NOT SIN: DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR WRATH" (Ephesians 4:26). Apparently the Ephesians were having a problem with anger, because, in the first clause, the two present imperatives add up to "Stop sinning while angry." Good advice then and now! Even when our anger is justified, and sometimes it is, there are many ways to sin when angry. One of them is to prolong our anger beyond its usefulness. That’s why the next clause limits the duration of our period of wrath. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" is a figure of speech and, as such, should not be put in a strait-jacket of literalness. It doesn’t mean that it is O.K. to be angry all day as long as the sun is shining. It does mean that angry periods should not be extended for selfish purposes. It might be wrong to be angry for an hour...or for five minutes... or for two! It means that we should not cherish our anger and continue it. It is dangerous to speak while angry and even more dangerous to act.

Christ experienced anger. Apparently not very often (there are only two recorded instances of His anger in the Gospels) (Mark 3:1-5; 10:13-16), and never over offenses done to Him. Doubtless there are lessons here for us. Christ was seldom angry. When He was, it was over injustices done to others. His responses were not anger-motivated; He exhibited the inner control produced by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23, "temperance"). And He did not keep His anger alive; He didn’t stew over things as we so often do. He dealt with problems, put them behind Him, and moved on. He never allowed Yesterday to rob Him of Today and Tomorrow, nor should we. The same Holy Spirit upon Whom He, as man, depended indwells us; to motivate, to energize, to guide.

Anger can be good; that’s why God invented it. Anger can be our point of contact with reality. I wouldn’t give a nickel for a man who is incapable of anger, if such a man even exists. I doubt that he does. The difference between individuals in our world is not that some get angry and others do not. One difference is that some of us mask our anger and others don’t. But a more important difference lies in the things that make us angry and in how we act when angry.

This brings us to an interesting question, Is anger a conscious choice, or does it come upon us unaware? Does the sin lie in being angry, or in the attitude we hold that prompts the anger? Is the angry flush wrong, or is the carnal attitude that produced it wrong...and the carnal manner with which we acted, once we were angry? Christ, living in uninterrupted dependence upon the Spirit, always had good attitudes--never bad ones--and so His anger was always justified, moderate, and brief.

We are not sinless as Christ was and is, and must live, this side of Heaven, with our sinful Adamic natures and our sinless Divine natures in constant conflict (Galatians 5:17). We must never excuse our sins, God doesn’t. Sin is never the will of God for any believer. The important thing is that we become increasingly characterized by new nature activity, less and less by the old. The Spirit produces inner discipline because the Spirit, first of all, produces proper attitudes...attitudes born through the regular intake of Bible doctrine.

Mental health centers are full of Christians who are there simply because they refuse sound doctrine (health-giving teaching). God gives us simple instructions to follow...prescriptions for mental health and emotional prosperity. If we follow them, we can be happy and we can contribute to the happiness of others. If we do not follow them, we insure our own unhappiness and that of others.

Aren’t you amazed that we Christians so readily accept a verse that says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31), and so reluctantly accept one that says "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32)? We seem to attribute the former to the genius of God, while treating the latter as foolishness. How many millions of Christians are carrying yesterday’s anger with them today, insisting upon being unkind, hardhearted, and unforgiving? To the extent that we do this, do we not rob God of His glory, our neighbor of his good, and ourselves of our honor, our emotional well-being...even our mental health? If we loved God and our neighbor, would we not purpose to fulfill His wishes where our neighbor is concerned?

Inordinate anger is a very real problem for all Christians... more for some than others. Some are so defeated in this area as to become completely unprofitable in life and ministry. Selfish attitudes make us unjustifiably angry and sinful thoughts, words, and deeds result. God is not glorified by this. Nor are we made happy and useful.

If we pray "Lord, make me kind," we put the ball in God’s court as though there is still something incumbent upon Him to do before we can be kind. But He has said, "Be kind", putting the ball in our court. We must recognize that He has done all that is necessary for us to be kind to others. He has given us a new nature, indwelt us, and given us His Word. All this grace brings responsibility. Perhaps a better prayer might be, "Lord, you have already empowered me to be kind. Help me to draw on that power!"

"Be kind, nearly everyone you meet in life is fighting a battle!" (McLaren)