Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger: Insights from Ephesians 4:26
Have you ever cleaned the gutters that run along the side of your house? It’s surprising how much debris gets trapped in them.
Last week, I was working on my annual spring yard clean-up. While working, I noticed a fern growing out of my gutter downspout.
I reached to pull the fern out, but it wouldn’t budge. This is when I realized the gutter was completely blocked. Dirt and leaves were caked in the opening and blocked the water flow. It was so blocked I don’t know if water would even drain through.
After poking and pulling for a few minutes, I eventually got most of the dirt out. It was a small mound of leaves and mud.
Here’s the worst (or embarrassing part), I don’t know if these gutters have ever been cleaned. I’ve lived in my home for 20 years.
Because I ignored the problem for too long, the gutter became completely dysfunctional.
Be angry, and don’t sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.
Ephesians 4:26
Insights from Ephesians 4:26
As I pulled this mess out of the gutter, I thought about communication and how messy communication and feelings can become, especially with people closest to us. In close relationships, as feelings get more complicated, we sometimes get angry and frustrated (we are all human).
To avoid confrontation, we let those feelings build and ignore the problem when it’s small and more manageable. Eventually, we have allowed so much build-up that we break all communication.
At first, one little angry moment here and there doesn’t seem like much. But over time, months and years, these few angry moments compound (like the dirt in the gutter). If we don’t deal with why we feel this way and let our anger grow, communication will stop, and relationships will be damaged.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:26 that you shouldn’t let the sun go down on your anger. If you want to maintain meaningful relationships in your life, you want to keep your anger short. Don’t allow anger to build up inside you.
Moving further in this chapter, Paul advises us to be careful with our words. Specifically, no foul language should come from your mouth. James also wrote about the power of words. We must be careful how we use them. Words have the power to hurt or to heal.
Finally, in Ephesians 4:32, we get a whole picture. Be kind to each other.
Don’t hold on to anger. Don’t speak harshly to others, but be kind. Be generous and considerate with your words, and be forgiving to others as Christ forgives us.
When you continually give others kindness, consideration, and forgiveness, your relationships and communication will be better, too.
For further study on Ephesians, check out Chosen, A Study of the Book of Ephesians.
