Author: Pastor Steve Duffy
…and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Paul’s words from Ephesians 4:26-27. What is this anger? How are we to follow this command when our most common experience is not overcome by sin in thought or deed? Following this last question, how in the world do we help young people do the same?!
What is this anger?
Paul’s command sits in a set of commands that emphasize what it specifically looks like to contribute to the unity in Christ that he spoke of early in chapter 4 and what practical realities of the new life in Christ look like in action.
I have found the NET translation note to be helpful in understanding this passage: The idea of vv. 26-27 is as follows: Christians are to exercise a righteous indignation over sin in the midst of the believing community (v. 26a; note that v. 25 is restricting the discussion to those in the body of Christ). When other believers sin, such people should be gently and quickly confronted (v. 26b), for if the body of Christ does not address sin in its midst, the devil gains a foothold (v. 27).
I have also found the following definition (from Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries) to be a helpful definition: A passionate, active, moral response of the entire person to a perceived wrong or injustice.
Righteous anger (indignation) is centered on the Lord, a “perceived wrong or injustice” as God defines in His word. Unrighteous anger (or the “anger of man” as James 1:20 states) is centered on us (humanity), a “perceived wrong or injustice” according to our own definition.
What does the practice of righteous anger look like?
I’ll be honest, until the past few weeks I have not had a mindset of parsing through my own anger to emphasize the need to practice righteous anger. My default has often been to assess the heart of my anger, assuming it is always sinful (which is true), without any consideration of righteous anger that could be in the mix.
I have used James 1:19 as a guide with the students for how to live out Ephesians 4:26, adding practical detail to give a starting point for identifying and practicing righteous anger.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” - James 1:19-20
Quick to hear…
This takes time and is hard work. It is not always accomplished right away, but there is an urgency to engage in the following.
- Listen to God first – what does God say, His standard? Is the perceived offense as God defines or I define? That is the point of James 1:19-21! Otherwise we default to our sinful nature that leads us to the “anger of man”.
- Listen to others who are not involved – process with another, counsel from the wise
- Listen to those that are involved – gather info, do I understand the situation rightly?
- Evaluate what triggers apply – what specific things happened that “pushed my buttons
- Evaluate why I am angry – what do I want? (see last week’s blog!)
- Option: step away, as the first step, to do the previous (take a walk, go to another room, step outside, take some deep breaths, disengage in some way)
- Resist the temptation to move on or to minimize.
Slow to speak…
An immediate response with words/actions likely nurtures being quick-tempered. What impact would holding our tongues to consider the following have on us and the situation at hand?
- Pray specifically that the Lord work in you to bear the fruit of the Spirit (e.g., love and self-control) when speaking! Consider James 3:1-12, which has much to say about the power of our words.
- When speaking, address sin and the effects of sin, focusing on “what is the offense against God?” first. This is hard work. The answer to the question “what do I want?” moves us in the right direction. See last week’s blog for more detail.
- Then move to “what is the offense against another?” next. Oftentimes the sin involved includes words that devalue a person who is an image bearer of God, so that will always be a good starting point to focus on. This gets closer to the heart of righteous anger.
Slow to become angry…
- As the previous unfolds, righteous anger within becomes more clear, anger that flared up is “refined”. I.e., misunderstandings, false assumptions, and heart level contribution to man’s anger is all tested and at the end of this looks much easier to identify the righteous anger to dwell and possibly act upon.
- Why go through all this work? A quick path to anger, without the previous, is almost always “man’s anger”. Not going to say 100% of the time, but likely 99.9% of the time :)
- So, what you do with this righteous anger matters! Many of the evaluation options (prayer, guidance from God’s word and the Spirit, the counsel of others) apply at this step also. It does not always have to be acted upon, and if others are involved then most likely there is an opportunity to bring the gospel to others involved. So this whole exercise becomes a restorative action rather than a punitive action.
How do we influence young people toward righteous anger?
I frequently say this, but the greatest impact you have on young people is your own example. The way you live your life is the primary teaching tool. Your patterns of living will set the foundation and experience of their patterns of living. That is a sobering and humbling statement every time I say it. A few considerations with this.
- Always start by evaluating where you are in the previous practical helps. What might be your next step? Commit to growing in this area of your walk with Jesus.
- And with the previous, keep an on-going conversation with your young person about the details of where you are in your journey. They need to hear how you are engaging in learning and growing, how the Lord is integral to that. Again, they are watching and listening to you, set the pace for them!
- Last, as you are figuring out the growth process, engage them personally to do the same. Walk with them through the details, through the reps. These are practical gospel opportunities in an area of living that impacts us all.
So, be angry and do not sin. Easy enough! Well, that is part of the journey, but knowing the previous from God’s word is an assured help, for ourselves and in guiding young people. Now the hard work of being a “doer of the word”, through reps, the power of the Spirit, prayer, God’s word, and one another this can be accomplished. If it could not be then the Lord would not have issued this command. Press on friends under His mercy and grace and by the power of the Spirit, remembering that we are all works in progress over a lifetime!
