Rage and Anger

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

RAGE AND ANGER

Eph 4:29-32

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

NIV

Knowing that this unwholesome talk is referring to the attitudes and behaviors listed as things we are to rid ourselves of, and we looked into this bitterness, which could result in the rest of those attitudes, we still need to look at the rest of the list. It would seem right to put rage and anger together. With the Greek word, thumos, seen as wrath, or passion angry heat, and orgee, as seen as the natural disposition, temper, character, or agitation of the soul, that defines anger, these go hand in hand. But the question is what provoked these Ephesians into that kind of attitude that became trouble in the church. These were believers, unless all these destructive attitudes and behaviors were from their past lives as pagans, and they have already come full circle and now love each other as they love themselves, as a result of loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. However, that is how we the body of Christ are supposed to love each other, and yet we cannot help but have noticed over the years that a certain level of rage and anger have existed within the church from time to time. Still, the point of all scripture is for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness, so that we will be equipped for every good work. Therefore, it would behoove us to look within ourselves, doing that self-examination thing, as we examine the word of God. Have we completely rid ourselves of any and all rage and anger? Again, why would we ever become filled, if just a little bit, with a level of wrath? And for God’s sake, how could we ever allow our temper to rule our hearts and minds to become angry? We should know better because we have read and heard the word of God over and over so His word should be what fills our hearts and minds, which would override any of those self-centered feelings which are the generators of wrath and anger. If we spend our thinking regarding kindness and compassion toward others, there would be no room left to feel any rage or anger, especially with the forgiveness of others. The sad thing is that we can harbor this rage and anger within, without anyone knowing.  However, if we are always in a state of mind and spirit of forgiveness, we would never ever find a reason for any amount of rage and anger. Forgiveness not only covers rage and anger, it eliminates them completely. If we are trying at all to be like Jesus, we would have rid ourselves of rage and anger years ago and left those feelings in the dumpster of the past, which has already been picked up and taken away. Therefore, we must ensure we do not try any dumpster diving to see if we can reuse them.