Consumed By Anger – Part 1

Ephesians 4:26 – Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.

In a satirical cartoon a man came home from work after a rough day both tired and exasperated. As soon as his wife said hello, he growled and shouted at her. She turned and yelled at the oldest child, who then screamed at her brother who in turn kicked the dog. The caption below the cartoon read: "It would have been better if the man had kicked the dog". Actually, it would have been even better if he had found some creative way to express his anger and deal with it.

Let's get to the heart of this matter immediately. It is impossible to avoid getting angry if you live in a world populated by people. You may call it by one of its clones – upset, disturbed, disappointed, miffed, righteous indignation, mad, and my all-time favourite – frustrated – but it's still that emotion which many of us know in its most negative form, the emotion that churns inside and causes us great concern, and in its worst form, brings on the ulcers and headaches and stresses and strains. This anger the Bible invites you to let go of and get rid of before the sun goes down, before it invades your peace and destroys your happiness and gives the devil every opportunity to separate you from God and from others.

Prayer: Help us, God, to know our angers and deal with them in ways that do not lead to sin but lead to new understanding and an awareness of how precious others are in our life. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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