Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down
on your anger… Ephesians 4.26
Well, I don't
remember being taught anything about this back in Sunday school. Be angry?
Quite the opposite! But here it is. And it's not just a suggestion. It's a
command. The Spirit wants us to be angry. But if you think about it, that makes
sense. There is much evil all around us, many ways in which people's lives are
being ruined, many ways that Satan is trying to undo the good that Jesus is
doing. I think that these are some things for us to be angry about and to
respond to, being motivated by that anger. There are times to be nice. But
then, there are times to be angry, even very angry.
But the Spirit also
reminds us to limit our anger. He gives one example: 'do not let the sun go
down on your anger'. We are not to be known as angry people. That's when the
anger consumes a person. That's when anger is destructive of the person. We are
to avoid that.
But being careful of
the dangers, we are to be angry and to use that anger to bring about change in
our world.