Where Are You Angry?

In your anger do not sin. - Ephesians 4:26

The upright give thought to their ways. - Proverbs 21:29

Though it’s clearly not our go-to approach to anger, apparently there’s a way to be angry without sinning. According to Ephesians 4:26, we are invited into anger while still being warned against sin. Of course, Jesus was angry any number of times, so we know this is at least theoretically possible!

The book of Proverbs sheds some additional light when it comes to anger, which is that we should ponder it. As Brenna said on Sunday, anger can be like the ‘Check Engine’ light blinking on the dashboard of your car. It is neither morally good nor bad - it’s just a signal that there’s something worth taking a closer look at under the hood because otherwise something dangerous might happen.

So what if we took our anger seriously enough to loo at it directly and to turn it over in our mind. Perhaps it will hold the clue for us to where we’ve been violated, perhaps it will reveal some gift or passion that we’ve not noticed before, perhaps it will invite us into a bigger role in pursuing justice, or perhaps it will show us some place where we’re wounded or immature.

Take time today to give thought to your anger. Don’t shut it up or pretend it’s not there. Name it, embrace it, and invite the Spirit to guide you as you seek to learn from it what God wants to show you.