Sunset Peace

Ephesians 4:26: Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger . . . [ESV]

Anger is such a volatile thing, and so risky. Few things are more likely to draw us into untransformed living as anger.

Anger rises out of offense. When someone does something to us that humiliates us, or makes us feel hurt or offended, we become angry. Sometimes it's totally legitimate for us to feel that way - if someone steps on your heart or violates you, it makes sense to be angry. Who could criticize a rape victim for feeling anger? Sometimes it's less legit - when we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, anger will be all around us because people will treat us as we deserve to be treated, rather than with the high level of respect we think we have coming.

But what's significant in this passage is not what makes us angry, but what we do with that anger once we are.

It's so easy to make bad decisions when we are fierce with rage. It's so easy to say things we can never take back, to do things that will later make us blush, to act without thought from the depth of our emotion.

The advice here is two fold - When we become angry, we have to keep an eye on how we behave. Don't let anger make you do everything that anger tries to get you to do.

Second, don't give anger free range in your heart. Give it the time it deserves, but never more than one day. By the time you lay down to sleep, be sure that you've given your rage to God, and entrusted him to make things right.