Investigating the Bible: Be angry without sin

A man spent three and a half frustrating hours at the Department of Motor Vehicles and then went to buy his son a baseball bat. As he made the purchase, the woman clerk asked, “Cash or credit?” “Cash,” he snapped. Then he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I just spent half a day in line at the DMV.” She quipped, “Would you like me to wrap this, or do you plan to go back?” The apostle Paul honestly recognized the natural physical reaction with anger: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27, English Standard Version used throughout). He also offered guidance on how to be angry without sin.

Angry? Put out the fire. The Greek language verb system is more precise than English. Greek verbs indicate “voice,” which is how the subject relates to the action. “Active voice” is “he killed.” “Passive voice” is “he was killed.” Paul used the passive voice when he wrote, “Be angry,” which aptly describes how anger seems to overwhelm. Then he switched to the active voice, writing, “do not sin,” meaning take control of our reaction.

Paul knew the Old Testament. Its advice: Don’t feed fires of rage; let them run out of fuel. “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” (Proverbs 15:18).

Ignoring a fire is foolish, as is not addressing anger. Robert Alberti and Michael Emmons in their classic book on assertiveness, “Your Perfect Right,” say the first step with anger is admitting and owning it. Say, “I am very angry,” not “You make me very angry.” However, they observed that too often people use “cowardly, indirect methods” by complaining to others and not to the source. Paul’s advice is similar: “...[H]aving put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor,...”. (Ephesians 4:25).

Angry? Remember Jesus. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31,32). “Tenderhearted” is not the literal translation. In that past culture, loving behavior came from the intestines, so a literal translation is “have tender intestines toward one another.”

The most persuasive argument for forgiveness is the example of Jesus as he was dying on the cross. Seeing soldiers cast lots for his garments and hearing vicious attacks from religious leaders, “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34).

Angry? Nighttime is a time “...to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24). “Be angry and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 4:4-5).

Ben Carson is a gifted neurosurgeon whose pioneering techniques for brain surgery have saved many lives. However, as a teenager, he had a short-fused and dangerous temper. Once his good friend changed the channel on their radio, and Carson became furious, grabbed the camping knife he carried, and plunged its blade full force into his friend’s stomach. The knife hit his friend’s large belt buckle and broke, preventing serious injury or death. Carson couldn’t believe what he had done, for a stupid reason. He spent hours locked in his home bathroom, tearfully praying for God to change him. He got a Bible and came across this verse: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32). God answered Carson’s prayer. He left the room a changed person and began a habit of daily Bible reading.

Dave Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) lives in Oregon and graduated from Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota (M.Div., M.Th.).