God and you

Day 70

'That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, 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. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.'

Ephesians 4:20-28

Hey, who gets angry? If you don't, then I'm kind of assuming that you are from another planet, cos pretty much everyone gets angry. I mean, anger is a natural human emotion, right? That's why it's one of the major 5 emotions in Inside Out (sorry, I happen to be a massive Disney/Pixar fan). It is one of the biggest things that we feel. And God gets that! You hear me? God gets that! He understands us, and he knows that we have to get angry sometimes. Even Jesus got angry!

So we've established the fact that getting angry isn't illegal for Christians. That is, by the way, the common view taken by non-Christians. But what God says is wrong here is not anger, but sinning while being angry. Obviously everyone sins, which is why Jesus died for us. However, this kind of sinning is different. It's the kind of sinning that the Devil likes to be a part of. He sees the anger you feel as some kind of opportunity, and if you let him, he will try and draw you away from God. Like the verse says, 'do not let the sun (God) go down when you are angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.'

So what do  you need to do? Well, you can get angry, for in all honesty, there are loads of things that are good to be angry about, like poverty and violence. But don't let the Devil in. Don't allow the Devil to make you sin, and do stuff that draws you away from god. Don't blame anything on God, for the Devil wants you to think like that, but really, it's God who resolves all the things you don't like. The Devil makes them. If someone makes you feel angry, don't try to hurt them back. There's no point! And anyway, the bible says to love your enemy.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you that it's OK to get angry. Thank you that you understand me. Please help me not to be drawn to sin when I am angry. Please cast away the Devil when he tries to draw me away from you. Help me to always trust and believe in you.

Amen