The Danger with Anger

In today’s verses Paul addresses anger and how we are to deal with it.

Ephesians 4:25-27

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.

Paul starts off this passage with some practical ways of living out their new lives in Christ. He first addresses the need to be honest with one another. Any time we choose to exaggerate, distort or lie, we are hurting the body of Christ. We always have a choice in what we say to one another, we can choose to speak the truth or not. With our new lives in Christ, we are called to speak the truth.

Next, Paul addresses the concept of anger. Anger can be a dangerous emotion because if it is not dealt with and settled, it will turn into a root of bitterness in your heart. “Paul’s advice is sound, because the longer we postpone mending a quarrel, the less likely we are ever to mend it.” Paul recommends not letting the sun go down while remaining angry so the anger isn’t carried over into the next day without being addressed.

When we choose to hang onto our anger and allow bitterness to take root in our hearts, we are giving the devil a foothold. The enemy wants nothing more than to prevent us from living the lives God has for us. He can easily do that if we allow our anger to fester.

Are you holding onto any anger? Do you have bitterness your heart? Pray for the Lord to reveal to you areas where you have not resolved your anger. We all get angry at times, but we need to not allow our anger to cause us to sin and not allow our anger to turn to bitterness. We are called to forgive and to seek forgiveness. Who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to seek forgiveness from?

• Scripture from http://www.biblegateway.com
• Quote from “The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians”, The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, Westminster Press.

 

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Sandpaper People

We were created to be in relationships; a relationship with God and relationships with other people. However, relationships are messy because people are messy. We all have people in our lives that rub us the wrong way – sandpaper people. These are the people that we constantly find ourselves in conflict, the ones who frustrate us and irritate us. They are the people that we just can’t ever seem to get along with well.  For many of us, these people are in our workplaces, churches or extended families.

Can you think of who the sandpaper people are in your life or maybe you are lucky and only have a sandpaper person? I know for myself, every time I have a run in with one of these people, I pray that God will change them because in my mind they are obviously the problem. In fact, I have asked God why I have to put up with them, because they are never going to change. It is easy for me to identify what they are doing wrong and exactly what they need to do to change. Does that sound familiar?

However, I have humbly discovered that these people are in my life for a reason. These sandpaper people are in my life not because they need me to change them, but because I need them to help change me. As much as they rub me the wrong way, God has revealed to me that there are a lot of “rough” spots in my personality and He is using them to smooth out my rough spots just as sandpaper is used to rub out the rough spots on a piece of wood. 

I hope you will join me this week as I share what I have learned about how to God uses these people I refer to as sandpaper people, others refer to as EGR (extra grace required), to change me. Each day this week I will share a way in which you can transform your relationships, because these people are not in your life by mistake.  Most likely they are not going away or if they do, they will be replaced by someone else who rubs you the wrong way. They are not there so you can change them; they are there because YOU need to change. If we could change and improve these relationships on our own, we would have done so by now, but we can’t. We need the power of His Holy Spirit working in and through us to transform our relationships.

I hope you join me this week and learn some ways for you to transform your relationships! 

Philippians 4:13

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.