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Measured Anger


 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
 Ephesians 4:26-27

            Have you ever been accused of being less "spiritual" because you were upset about something? Have you ever thought that you could not even be angry about something that happened to you or perhaps an event in the world? The Word of God gives several instances of holy and righteous anger. God is described as angry, Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. Jesus was angry when He made a whip of cords and drove all the money changers out of the temple and overturned their tables (cf. Mark 11:15-17). Righteous indignation is righteous.
            However, there is a danger if we let anger go too far. Consider James 1:19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Paul admonishes the Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. He adds in Colossians 3:8 that anger and wrath are to be put out of your mouth. So how do we reconcile these passages with Ephesians 4:26?
            We have to act responsibly. We cannot just fly off-the-cuff with our anger at any little offense. We must think out our anger and analyze our thoughts and motivations for righteous indignation. If there is cause for anger, we must control our anger (not let it become sinful). We must limit our anger (not let the sun go down on our wrath).  For the consequences of sinful anger are a source of standing for Satan in our lives. There is no place for the Accuser. 
Grace and Peace.
Ryan



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