“BE ANGRY, AND DO NOT SIN”
(March 2)
“Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Eph 4:26-27; cf. Ps 4:4)
Why are we told, in Holy Scripture, to “be angry”? Because we should be angry, in certain circumstances. We should not be indifferent, complacent, or “not angry,” when anger is appropriate. Because anger is a God-given and God-like energy, which is meant to move us to God-like action. What is “God-like action”? It is based on God-like love; it is life-affirming and creative, as is our Creator, and not destructive or homicidal, as is the enemy of our salvation, the devil. God-given anger is an alarm-signal of love; of a love that feels helpless in the moment, to be heard or felt effectively.
BUT anger can quickly become sinful, if we harbor it, or “give place to the devil” (as quoted above), that is, if we hand it over to the devil, to do with it as he does, weaponizing it against us and our loved ones. So, your anger needs to be short-lived, and you need to channel it in God-like ways, quickly and effectively, not letting “the sun go down upon your wrath.” This is not an easy thing to do, but it is a wonderful and worthwhile thing to learn to do. I can learn to put out these fires, of anger against my loved ones, before any given day ends. How? By using grace-filled words; by telling my loved one(s) of my anger, not in a violent way, but in a loving way, which stresses that I am *not* indifferent to their love. I cherish it, and am hence not indifferent to losing or diminishing it. Lord, grant me the wisdom and courage to give place to Your kind of action, if I become angry today, and not to the devil.
