IS ANGER ALWAYS BAD?
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Ephesians [NLT] 4:1-31 Therefore
I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your
calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be
patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of
your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves
together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have
been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living
through all.
However, he has given each one of us a special
gift [We each are equipped.] through the generosity of Christ. That is why the
Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and
gave gifts to his people.”[Ps.68:18]
Notice
that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to
our lowly world. And the same one who
descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might
fill the entire universe with himself.
Now
these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip
God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This
will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of
God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and
complete standard of Christ.
Then we
will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by
every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick
us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the
truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head
of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As
each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the
whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
With
the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they
are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from
the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their
hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure
and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
20 But that isn’t what you learned about
Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes
from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which
is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts
and attitudes. [Rom.12:1-3] Put on your new nature [2Cor.5:17], created to be
like God—truly righteous and holy.
So stop
telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the
same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[Ps.4:4] Don’t let the
sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
If you
are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and
then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let
everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an
encouragement to those who hear them.
And do
not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has
identified you as his own [Jn.1:12], guaranteeing that you will be saved on the
day of redemption [2Cor.1:22; Eph.1:13; 4:30].
Get rid
of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types
of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
We know anger can
be bad or good; all anger is not sinful.
Exercising sinful
self-righteous anger we walk other than His Way, and suffer God’s resistance. Exercising
godly-righteous anger we walk His Way, and realize God’s empowerment. (Jam.4:1-10)
Anger inherent to
one’s grieving loss is prime example of this distinction. Apart from reliance
upon The Way (Jn.14:6), we grieve God’s Holy Spirit and suffer loss
spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. In The Way, we maintain, even
gain, healthy maturation spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
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