Ephesians 4:26
“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.
How did your family deal with anger?
We often stir in self-righteousness as we think about what made us angry, with just a hint of blame and condemnation, until our angry stew is fully ready to serve our new situational enemy. Now we are ready to share with our transgressors what they did wrong in an aggressive way that demands they submit to my truth or suffer the consequences. There is such a thing as righteous anger, but the problem with righteous anger is it usually doesn’t stay righteous very long.
Proverbs 14:16-17
The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure. 17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.
We might decide to bottle everything up deep inside causing us real medical issues that come with suppressed anger. Once we have suppressed our wrath long enough, depression starts to set in, and we don’t know why because we are denying reality and living a lie that everything is fine, when really, we’re about to explode.
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Denying how you feel will cause you to bury your anger until you explode or give up. Confess it! Be honest about how you are feeling but leave the judgement of the situation to the Lord. No matter how you learned to process your anger growing up, you don’t have to live that way for a lifetime of bitterness and rage. Also, confess how you responded over time, to God.
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about these scriptures?