Keep Calm and Carry On

‘Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity’

- Ephesians 4:26-27 -

I got angry with my only son last night. It was the bathroom blues. The toilet training terrors. That witching hour between bath and bed when all that remains is Bible stories and, yes, having the little fella use the potty. But all he wanted to do was swing his feet, sing the alphabet, and tell me he pooped an hour earlier (when in fact he hadn’t gone since Monday). My blood boiled, harsh works were spoken, and, to my dismay, I asked his mum to take over. I felt like a royal failure. Not only did my 3-year-old (whom I love deeply) not poop as planned, but I barked “Goodnight!” before stomping off like an ogre.

---

While I calmed down outside (that’s “dad-speak” for seething and itching your beard) I told myself to pray, and right away the Spirit sent me down the rabbit hole on rage. I knew Scripture said anger was to be dealt with, not lived in. But after such an unhappy end to my day, I needed to hear specifics from God on agitation, not just the CliffsNotes. After Googling “Bible verses about anger,” the apostle Paul was waiting with just the words I needed: ‘Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity’ (Ephesians 4:26-27).

As fallen men and women, we all want to justify rage when it rears its ugly head. We hear Paul’s command to the Ephesians, yet we think our anger is special. “It’s not sinful,” we insist. “It’s righteousness indignation!” Like the Rich Fool in Luke 12, we like to reason with ourselves when we ought to reason from Scripture. We excuse crumby behavior, saying: “Even Jesus overturned tables in the Temple, and didn’t the anger of God burn against Moses when he griped about being a bad public speaker?” Our fallen logic says that if God boils over, why can’t we? What’s wrong with balling our fists and howling complaints until the cows come home? Well, Paul tells us why.

We can’t indulge our anger as it almost always leads to sin. Sure, Jesus made a whip and cleared the Temple, pouring out the money changers’ coins and overturning tables (John 2:15). The disciples, seeing His demonstration of holy authority, remembered how it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me” (2:17). Sounds like anger, right? But look closer and you realize Jesus doesn’t lose control at any point in John’s account. The same was true at His second Temple cleansing. Jesus didn’t rant and rave. Instead, He ‘began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den” (Mark 11:17). He highlighted the people’s sin, but never without a gracious (calm) invitation to salvation.

Righteous indignation is just that: righteous. And how better to show Godly anger than for Christ to drive conmen and hustlers from a house of worship and correct those who remained about the true ways of God? Jesus didn’t use anger as an excuse to sin. The God-man showed restraint and channeled His holy rage to honor God. Just as Paul told the Ephesians to do, Christ didn’t let the sun go down on His anger. And He certainly didn’t give the devil an opportunity. Before the dust even settled in the Temple, He was teaching truths that astonished the whole crowd and inspired the chief priests to seek His life (Mark 11:18).

Don’t you just love it when you hear things like Paul’s command to master anger, only to learn that he drew this inspired counsel straight from the Old Testament? I mean, what better to quote from than the inspired text itself? Paul reached back into Psalm 4, which at only 8 verses long makes for quick reading. So take a moment to meditate on David’s words before we round out our discussion on anger and sin. Hear what mighty King David had to say on the matter of rage.

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4 Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

5 Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7 You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

David draws on the same circumstances as in Psalm 3. His rebellious son, Absalom, has led a coup and forced the king to flee for his life. So David begins by asking for God’s help and scolding all who seek Absalom’s vain words and buy into his lies. If ever David has an excuse to anger unto sin, this is it. But while he mourns the betrayal of many in his kingdom, he remains confident that God has called him to reign as king. This is both a reassurance to David and a warning to his enemies, as with God filling his sails, David knows his rule is secure.

Next, David addresses the loyal friends who fled Jerusalem with him. It must shock them that the warrior king warns them not to let emotion drag them into sin. Even in dire circumstances, all who belong to God should not allow feelings to override faith. The Hebrew word David uses for anger literally means to tremble or to shake. It’s easy to see why Paul quoted this verse to the Ephesians, as while David could have boiled over into sin, God’s anointed king chose instead to be silent and meditate on his plight, placing all his trust in the Lord.

David ends the psalm by praising God for His grace and encouragement. He says his joy in God – even in exile – far outweighs what the world can offer. Scripture consistently teaches that true joy isn’t always the same as happiness, nor does it always come from happy circumstances (James 1:2-4; Luke 6:22-23). Rather, true joy is an underlying sense of trust and reassurance that God is in control. Only then, as David says, can believers both lie down and sleep in peace, knowing that only God makes them to dwell is safety.

So, we’ve seen why Paul quoted the wisdom of Psalm 4 to the Ephesians. Those who are God’s and are indwelled by His Spirit must emulate David and grapple with anger, not succumb to it. We are to lean on Scripture, seeing God in every trial, and trust in Him. God is sovereign over every rude person and stressful situation. Though He places us in trials, He is faithful to use them for our good. So the next time I’m ready to boil over just getting my son to use the toilet, it’s on me to remember that Christ says to turn anger into love. My actions flow from my heart, and my redeemed heart is altered by my actions. I change my feelings by changing how I choose to react in times of trouble.

Last but not least, lay on your heart what Paul told the Corinthians: ‘No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it’ (1 Cor. 10:13). Our great God is what? Faithful! He will not allow us to be tempted into sin that we are unable to escape by the power of His Spirit. God offers many paths to freedom, and as His adopted children, we now have the ability to not let the sun go down on our anger. In other words, dear Christian, keep calm and carry on...