Let It Go Before Sundown
Excerpt from Ephesians 4:20-26
“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver
One implication of the affirmation in this verse, "Be angry but do not sin," is that not all anger is sinful. There is such a thing as righteous anger. Anger is an appropriate response to injustice. In fact, all important social change is, in some way, fueled by anger.
Just as surely, not all anger is righteous or just. Thomas Aquinas, writing in the fourteenth century, singled out three ways in which anger can be sinful: when we get angry too easily, when we get more angry than we should, and when we hold onto our anger longer than we should.
It is because of our tendency to hold onto anger longer than we should that the author of Ephesians also counsels, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” That may sound a bit like comedienne Phyllis Diller’s advice, “Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight,” but it is more helpful, reminding us that there are dangers in holding onto our anger. Sometimes we can relish the experience of feeling wronged. Anger, which can be righteous, can easily turn self-righteous, as well. So beware anger that you hold onto too long. As writer Ann Lamott observed, hanging onto resentments is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.
Is there some anger that you need to let go of before the sun goes down today?
Prayer
God, let me confess that it is a temptation to hold onto my anger. Anger can help me feel righteous and superior. So help me let go of my anger before the sun goes down—for the sake of others, and for my own sake, as well. Amen.
|
