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This column represents the thoughts and opinions of The Rev. Carl Roth. This is not the opinion of the Elgin Courier.
In Ephesians 4:26-27, St. Paul counsels, “Be angry and yet don’t sin. Don’t let the sun go down while y’all are angry, and don’t provide a place for the devil.” This means that anger is not inherently sinful, since it is a natural response to injustice. The Bible often speaks of God being angry, and Jesus Himself shows anger (see Mark 3:5). So Paul says, “Be angry and yet don’t sin.” When you have been sinned against, be angry about it, acknowledge that it is a real offense that has been committed against you. Don’t blame yourself for someone else’s sin. Don’t pretend like nothing has happened. Be angry that a sin has occurred against you.
But don’t sin! And that’s the tricky part, isn’t it? Because what does Satan want me to do? He wants my justifiable anger to convert into sinful rage, into malice, into spite, into a grudge, because when we’re filled with those things, then the devil stirs up hatred and seeks to destroy our faith.
If you have been sinned against, then be angry, but deal with it the right way. Don’t put off doing something about the anger. Don’t go to bed without dealing — in some way— with the thing that makes you angry. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that you confront the person right away and try to settle everything— although reconciliation is what Christians always are to aim for, since Jesus says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3) — but it does mean that you have to do something about the anger to make sure that you don’t go all night angry, and you don’t rise the next day angry.
Don’t carry your anger from day to day. Because what happens when you carry over anger? It grows and feeds off itself. It can lead not only to hatred but also to self-pity and ultimately depression, when you drink your own vinegar. If you bottle it up, at some point the pressure is going to build up like a pressure cooker and then you’re going to spew out over somebody inappropriately — you might even take it out on everyone around you.
What can you do with the anger before the sun goes down to keep the devil from taking up residence in your heart? Hand it over to Jesus. Look at a crucifix and remember that what Jesus suffered there is what you deserve for your own sin, and then remember what He was there doing for you, and how He did it. He showed only love for His sinful enemies (which includes us!). Jesus suffered and died for all of your sins, so by His wounds you are healed of your guilt, you are set free from God’s condemnation for your sins. Throughout His life, when Jesus was attacked, He became angry but did not sin, since He entrusted His cause to the One who judges justly, God the Father. As the Psalm says, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act” (Psalm 37:5). Jesus did that perfectly for you.
So when you become angry, then entrust everything, especially your anger, to God through prayer, as Jesus did on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Remember that when others are sinning against us, they don’t realize that they are being controlled by Satan, and so what they need more than anything from us is our prayers. Ask God the Father to release them from the bonds of Satan, who has taken up residence in their lives in order to attack you. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Your persecutors don’t need your wrath, but they need your prayers for God’s help.
Jesus said that when we pray, we should pray the Lord’s Prayer. When you’ve been sinned against, especially pray the Fifth Petition: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Here we are reminded that if we expect God to forgive us, we also must forgive the sins of others against us. St. Paul wrote, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). So before the sun goes down on your anger, through prayer, put away from you all the raging anger in your heart, and pray that God would forgive you just as you have forgiven your neighbor. Since you have been baptized into Jesus Christ, you are a new creation, forgiven of all your guilt and recreated after the image of Jesus Christ, who is God’s love and mercy personified. In Christ, you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to forgive, even as you have been forgiven. Amen.
