Is Anger Enough?

Morning Meds 4.21

I heard the question asked yesterday, “What is the most misunderstood passage in the Bible?” Actually, I think that would make a great book (hint, hint to my Pastor). I would put in a vote for Ephesians 4:26 which says “Be angry and do not sin.” I actually heard someone talk about how anger is a sin. But the verse says to “be angry,” written like a command. How can that be? Well, the Bible lists several things that God hates Proverbs 6:16-19, and He says that we should align our thoughts with His thoughts in Romans 12:1 and 2. When the things God hates show up, it will evoke anger. The reason people call anger a sin is that often people sin when they are angry. The Bible encourages us to resist that response. We can be angry and have good things happen, like the conviction of murderers that had been covered up, as happened in the city of Chicago this past week. We can also be angry and destroy property and scare people that may not need to be scared, and that also happened this weekend. So the question is not if anger is good or bad, the question is, what do you mix your anger with? Anger by itself is not enough. On it’s own, anger will lead to destruction. However, anger mixed with hope is incredibly powerful. If you get angry this week, notice what is coming along with it. If you need to find some hope to mix with it, next week we’ll talk about some practical places to find it.. Felicity