Sometimes I spend too much time on the Internet. On social media, watching YouTube, reading the news. I justify that it’s part of my job, but really it’s just a hobby—you know, like dumpster diving or starting a fight club.
I like to be informed, I like to find funny stuff. As a writer, mentor, and teacher, I also legitimately have a job in which it’s helpful to know what’s going on in the world and also stay on top of trends.
That’s all good. It has a purpose.
But oftentimes, I also encounter stuff that makes me feel so uncomfortable. Sometimes, I even feel kind of angry.
And then I just want to do something about it.
In Ephesians 4, Paul is talking about how we walk as people who are renewed in Christ. He says something really interesting: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (4:26-27)
It’s interesting that he doesn’t say, “Don’t be angry.” Instead, Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin.”
Note that there’s a difference between “anger” and “fits of anger/rage” (Galatians 5:20), but we do see that anger is an emotion that God experiences. In the Old Testament, there are many accounts of God’s anger, and Jesus too, who lived a sinless life, experienced anger. Mark 3:5, for example, says “And [Jesus] looked around at [the pharisees’] with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”
If you’re walking with a renewed mind, you should be growing in your ability to discern what God’s will is. (Romans 12:2) There’s probably some stuff that should make you angry.
As you grow in your faith, the kind of stuff that makes you angry should be more like the stuff that makes God angry.
Sometimes I see the state of the world, and I feel incredulous. How could it be this way? How could people do that? What is going on?
Sometimes I observe things in myself and I feel the same way. How do I still have that kind of thought? Why didn’t I learn that lesson the first time? Why didn’t I consult God before I did that?
When that anger spurs me on to action, I embrace it. When I discover sin in my life, I am angry with that sin. I want it gone. You sneaky devil, I won’t allow you to trick me any longer!
Sometimes our anger with the state of the world leads us to do what Paul tells us just a few paragraphs later—to expose the deeds of darkness. (Ephesians 5:11)
But Paul tells us, “Be angry and do not sin.”
That’s the hard part.
When you get angry, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t react emotionally. Don’t behave in a way that doesn’t reflect Jesus’s life inside of you.
Anger rightly held will inspire gentleness, love, joy, peace, and self-control (to name a few) towards God’s beloved children.
If you need to run a self-assessment, check out Galatians 5:19-24, and see which list better fits your response to anger.
In our verses, Paul continues, “…and do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
When you get angry, deal with it. Don’t carry it into the next day.
Anger that’s not dealt with becomes bitterness and resentment, even if it was born in righteous indignation. And this is what is meant by verse 27, “…and give no opportunity to the devil.”
Anger, even the good kind if not used properly, is an open door for the enemy to play games with you.
While we see in the biblical narrative that God is sometimes angry, he is not bitter, he is not resentful. Yes, He has anger, but He also has grace. Grace and bitterness don’t mix. When the two meet in full force, grace wins.
So then, to grow in our faith and try to act more like God, how do we deal with our anger when it arises?
For interpersonal conflicts, we address them. Typically, conflicts only become more awkward and convoluted the longer everyone stews on them.
But for those things that you see in the world that just make your blood boil, we take them to the Lord.
This is so important for us as content creators. If we get this wrong, sometimes we blow the whole game. I believe that the Holy Spirit will sometimes use righteous anger to draw our attention to things. But if we fly off the handle with our own best devices, without any counsel from the Lord on the how and the what to do, we often sabotage ourselves.
Whenever the Lord speaks to you, by any means, it is first and foremost an invitation into a discussion with Him—an invitation into greater intimacy, greater communion. Whether he speaks in an audible voice, through the word of a friend, or by a spark in our spirit—our eyes should always end up more focused on Jesus.
When we feel that spark of anger, before we take any action at all, here are some questions we might ask of God in prayer:
- God, how do You feel about this situation?
- What part of this anger that I feel is my pride taking offense?
- How do grace and truth work together in this issue?
- Is this an issue that you’re calling me to use my voice to address?
- Father, if You want me to take action on this issue, will You take my anger, and instead replace it with a mission?
When we ask these questions as soon as possible, the anger will lift and it will be replaced with something better. Then we can take positive action to address what needs to be addressed in grace.
When we don’t ask these questions and we allow the anger to linger, it so often turns into something yucky.
If your experience is anything like mine, when you sincerely take questions like this to God, I think that He is usually going to clean your house first.
God, how do You feel about this situation? I showed you that because you do it too, just in a different way.
What part of this anger I feel is my pride taking offense? Almost all of it, but here’s some Scripture to meditate on.
Oftentimes our anger is not righteous indignation, but it’s our sin bristling up against someone else’s sin. Interestingly, that doesn’t mean that it’s not from God.
If God can use a worldly situation to help us identify and remove sin from our lives, we want that, right?
If our anger is righteous, but God isn’t calling us to have a voice on that issue, and instead it’s an opportunity to exercise self-control—we want that, right?
And if God wants to take that anger that we feel, and show us how to express the truth in a way that’s more like Him—we want that too, right?
Of course we do.
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (4:26-27)
Your anger isn’t always bad. It could be part of how the Lord speaks to and directs you.
But especially as a writer, as a content creative, as a Kingdom creative, your next steps are what make or break the game.
Not everything you feel impassioned about is because God wants you to have a voice on that subject. What areas has He called you to speak into? Where is He anointing you to raise your voice?
When you feel your ire rising for a subject that God hasn’t called you to carry authority on, what might He be drawing your attention to?
And if your anger has turned to bitterness on a subject, don’t write from that place. Don’t exercise your voice from that place. Go to God and deal with the bitterness, then you can start from the beginning again.
Well-informed truth spoken from bitterness is poison. It’s the devil’s favorite language. (Don’t believe me? See for yourself in Matthew 4.)
So, Paul said it best. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
Easy-peasy, right?
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