Friday, May 21

Psalm 1:6
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Thank the Lord today for his guidance over your life and ask him to keep you from that which would dishonor him and damage your own soul.

Read:
Ephesians 4:25-32
(v. 25) Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work. Doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

When it comes to anger, are you a “spewer” or a “swallower?” Let me explain. A spewer is a person who, when they are angry, typically vents that anger or frustration immediately and outwardly to whoever happens to be in the vicinity. A swallower is someone who, instead of spewing anger on others, tends to swallow that anger inside themselves. In fact, quite often swallowers are not even aware that they are angry, but they are – sometimes even more angry than the spewers.

Paul here is giving some very practical instruction about these two kinds of anger. He calls them “rage” and “bitterness.” But before he talks about rage and bitterness – he says, “In your anger do not sin.” In other words, anger, as a human emotion, is not necessarily sinful. Anger can, at times, be the appropriate response to frustration, pain or injustice because it tells us something is wrong and can spur us to take action. But anger, according to Paul, also makes us vulnerable to sin. Two of the forms of sinful anger that Paul mentions (he actually mentions several others as well) are rage and bitterness.

Rage is the outward and often explosive expression of anger. Rage is spewing. Rage is sinful because it hurts other people and destroys relationships.

Bitterness is anger turned inward. Bitterness is swallowing anger and holding on to it while it ferments and rots in our souls. Bitterness is sinful because it also hurts people (mostly us) and destroys relationships. It may work more slowly and more coldly – but it destroys nonetheless.

Paul teaches us two things with regard to rage and bitterness. First, he urges us to keep short accounts. “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” In other words, recognize and deal with your anger before it becomes sinful. Then he says, “get rid” of your anger. How do we do that? The rest of scripture suggests that prayer and confession is a great place to begin. When we allow the Holy Spirit to expose the anger we harbor in our hearts and then confess that to God in the safety and trust of prayer, we will find that he begins to release us from that rage or bitterness – and enables us to move toward genuine forgiveness.

So, are you a spewer or a swallower? Take some time as you close your week with God and ask him to help you identify any sinful anger you may have spewed or swallowed in recent days. Then ask him to help you confess and release that anger with his help.

Brian Coffey