Don’t Worry. Be Angry…
05.12.24
“So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Those who steal must give up stealing; rather, let them labor, doing good work with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is good for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:25-32
Thanks to instant replay, it is common in professional sports for fan bases to lament the unfair penalties their team receives. This is common because with slow motion it is easy to prove what every sibling has at one point screamed… “They started it!!!” The referee almost never notices the 5 minutes of trash-talk, the elbow here, and the knee there. But what the referee always sees is the angry retaliation that often boils over for the whole world to see. Whether on a football field, in a church building, or in a living room, we all know scenarios where anger causes significant disruptions and damage. As a society, we legislate and police the population in an effort to avoid these damages and disruptions. This is why there is a charge of “disorderly conduct.” The crime of being unruly or out of control.
Because of our nurturing under man’s laws for securing order, I think it is easy to read Paul’s words here, “the rules for the new life”, and miss the point on anger. Anger is a natural emotion that goes right along with fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, happiness, and confusion. Our emotional responses are a reaction to our current realities. If I lose a loved one, sadness is a natural and justified reaction. If someone puts a cobra in my office, fear is a natural and justified reaction. In the same way, if something painful happens to me or someone for, or if am aware of or experiencing injustice or abuse, anger is a natural and justified reaction. But on a societal scale, how often do we see injustice and oppression produce anger in people, and then the finger gets pointed at the victim for their response to their abuse? Not to say that violence is the solution to violence either, but we are not talking about actions, we are talking about emotions. An angry reaction that leads to justice is better than an apathetic reaction that continues injustice.
The wisdom from Paul is clear and correct in this NRSVU version which reads, “Be angry, but do not sin.” The instructions are not to suppress our anger if it is justified. The instructions are to avoid sin when you are angry. Why be angry? Well… the rest of the passage makes that pretty clear. According to these exact verses, this church is hurting from lies, stealing, bitterness, slander, selfishness, etc. In context, it looks more like Paul is saying “hey, I know this is happening to you and around you, and you SHOULD be angry. But I just want to be clear, filter that anger through Christ so that it leads to righting wrongs instead of ADDING more wrongs.” We are justified to be angry in our reaction, but not justified in unholy retaliation.
Here is another important point to what Paul is addressing here (and seen elsewhere in scripture.) We can do a whole lot of sinning against one another (in the same ways mentions in this passage) without a hint of anger in our outward expression. We can silently hold bitterness against a brother or sister, that may not lead to angry outbursts, but still lead us to lie, abuse, mistreat, or discard.
What do you think is a more loving/holy response through the lens of Jesus:
- Expressing honest anger toward injustice or pain?
Or
- Embodying apathy that leads to more injustice or pain?
A holy response to the things that cause pain is not apathy, it is lived out justice.