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.
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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