Being Angry While Avoiding Sin

Finding The Spiritual Balance

Eph. 4:17-32 

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

 “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

~ ~ ~ Amen & Amen

We are told that we must, as a forcible act, “put off”, “the old us”, which will include whatever actions or belief structures which might cause us to “put off” of the will of God for our lives, or the guidance of His Spirit. And, that, in place of that old one, we must “PUT ON”the “NEW US”, which is achieved, we are also informed, by the “renewing” (one could say, “reprogramming”, “restructuring”, “reframing” or “renovating”) of our minds – which is also a forceful and deliberate – even determined – action.

These are not passive options to be pursued at our leisure and whims. Leisure and whims are decided marks of the OLD US. These are firm instructions to be pursued IF we are disciples of The Anointed One, Yeshua. We simply can not follow Him, and the flesh at the same time, we must CHOOSE ONE. As The Father, and HIS Word adjures us, all the way through, we must CHOOSE LIFE! That choice will mean that we forcibly lay aside old patterns of thinking and doing, that have become second nature to us, that feel “normal”. Yet they are far from the “normal” God created us to be! We must, as the excellent actor, portraying Jesus in the movie “The Chosen” quipped, “Get used to DIFFERENT”. God's ways, we are told, are NOT our ways! OY! Has that become apparent! Annoyingly so at times! But it is only annoying to the parts still governed by the old me. There is still some “putting off” to be done! AND some intentional “putting on”!

OFF with the OLD, ON with the NEW. His Spirit will lead us in what we must do! But we won't make progress until we are through, playing around with the old, while avoiding the new!

Sorry. I call that a Seuss lapse, when I just bust into rhyme. . .

But, seriously. Attention MUST be given to this “reprogramming” daily, if we are ever to leave behind our miserable failures, mistakes, regrets, and our tendency to obsess on those, so as to wallow in the mire of self-pity, in the fleshly hog-pen we've made for ourselves, emotionally speaking. But usually it will also manifest in the physical realm, in some way, resulting in chaos and cluttered, confusion oriented, living, or sickness and pain in our bodies, and strained relationships with all those around us!

The Good News, however, is that we are now FREE, in Yeshua, to LEAVE BEHIND that low level living, and LEVEL UP to a NEW LIFE in HIM. But WE MUST MAKE UP OUR MINDS. We must get to that place that we are totally DONE with the old ways of being and doing! We must be ready to “burn the boats” of the old life we've become used to, and be willing to be willing to WORK, in cooperation with His Spirit, to “PUT OFF”, “LAY ASIDE”, the OLD “US” (which really is a half version of us) and be willing, even eager I would suggest, to pursue, with all our enthusiasm, intention and action, the NEW US (which is the REAL US that GOD envisioned) – by obeying HIS instruction and staying within HIS boundaries (which is our real “safety zone”)!

Ephesians is a great instruction book on how this is best accomplished, on what our part is in this effort, how to best cooperate with His Spirit in achieving this new normal, this new high life. One of the decisions this chapter calls for is a restructuring of our emotional and verbal responses to conflict, disappointment or challenges. He says that we should “put away lying” and “speak truth”. Well, that settles the Passive/Aggressive mess that too often substitutes for real “Christianity” around here! Just sayin'!

He continues that we should “be angry” yet not sin! Well. That would definitely be a spiritual accomplishment! For me it has been a most determined, and decisive attitude adjustment! It means that we must thoughtfully RESPOND to the difficulties (and the humans behind them) of life, and not merely react! OY!

Salvation and the forgiveness of our sin is free to us, in that HE paid the debts and penalties attached! However, following the One who forgives us will cost us our lives – in that the old life must be “put off”, firmly and completely, in order to follow Him! We are told that we must “die to the flesh & live to the spirit” “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (don't hold onto grudges until bedtime, it will disturb your rest), “and do not give the devil an opportunity”. Meaning that our mishandled anger opens the door for demonic involvement.

Anger is a legitimate emotional tool. Emotions, as I have felt led to point out on occasion, are like a “Check-Engine Light” in a car. They indicate a problem, potential or threatening. It is best not to ignore it, but you don't need to junk the whole car because a light comes on! We take it to a professional mechanic to diagnose the issues. It may just be a blown fuse, or part of the engine could need “fixing”. If it only needs oil we don't have to pay the mechanic for that service. We can thank him, go home and do it ourselves. But if part of the engine, or intricate working parts need replacing, then we must employ his or her services in that matter. In the same way, we take our emotions to God to see what we need to do – or have done - about it. Sometimes we just need to calm down, focus on the positive (whatever is true, lovely....etc.), and let stuff go. Sometimes we need to worship or journal or study to recharge our battery, or restore the blown fuse. Sometimes we need deliverance from a stronghold, or emotional “keep” that we've allowed the enemy to build and operate from, which is then keeping us from achieving our peace, maturity and stability spiritually – which requires the services The Great Mechanic! But the way we handle our anger is a big deal to God.

Which is why Paul continued his instruction on how to best handle anger, saying, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice (force). And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

What NOT to do –

1.DO NOT ALLOW corrupt communication – that which is not pleasing to God, helpful or necessary – come out of the mouth. “Thumper's Rule” (“Thumper” is the little rabbit-friend from Disney's Bambi move) comes to mind, “If you can't say something good, or nice, then don't say anything at all.”

2.DO NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT – by allowing the flesh to become dominant in frustration. 3.PUT AWAY FROM OURSELVES – ALL bitterness, wrath, anger (what is the distinction between those), clamor AND evil speaking – with ALL FORCE/Malice. In other words those things are worthy of our judgment, and worth despising.

AND – a final exhortation of what TO DO – we should – BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. Tenderhearted (not selfishly self-defensive) – achieved by – FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER AS WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN. God really is a “pay it forward” kind of GOD.

So, as we each recover our ground spiritually, let us stay accountable to each other, and hold each other accountable to THE WORD. Because that is the source of the TRUTH we are told to speak. Also let us be attentive to the nudges of the spirit, and to take our check-engine lights seriously enough to get down to what is causing it – but not let those emotions become the “lord”, or director of our actions! We are to report for duty daily, to receive His instructions, let Him interpret our challenges for us, as to HIS intentions for allowing them, and get HIS help with anything we are not mature enough to handle yet. And all of this without any shame, but only gratitude that HE IS THERE FOR US, and ready and able to aid us in keeping our transformation going, in our progress toward perfection!

This is the way to the maturity in The Spirit, which will enable us to be true followers and disciples of our dear Lord & Savior, and eventually walk in His Authority and Anointing enough to “do the things which HE does & greater” as promised – by the Power and Aid of His Spirit working through us. Cultivating these practices does decimate the foolish flesh, and empowers the spirit-beings in us, so that we can be HIS partners in seeing “His Kingdom come...” and “His will be done, HERE as it Heaven.”

And, I don't know about all of you, but THAT is exactly the goal of my life, breath and existence. I am obviously not done yet. But as we say in our recovery groups, “Progress Toward Perfection.” It is happening, by His grace.

Selah.

Comments

[Auna Mission]

Hallelujah. Good word!