Have you ever been so angry with someone that it caused you to sin against them? Maybe a bout of road rage caused you to say or do something you wouldn't otherwise do. Or maybe someone flirted with your significant other, so you uploaded nasty posts about them on Facebook. Or maybe someone said something to provoke you and you got in a fist fight. Although anger itself is not a sin, God knows that anger can lead us to sin. That is one reason why Paul warns us in Ephesians 4 verses 26 and 27 which says:
“'In your anger do not sin'; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."
Satan is always at work, whether we choose to acknowledge his handy work or not. He is always looking for a foothold to cause us to sin. And anger can open the door to a foothold, just like lust, greed, or jealousy. Paul warns that in our anger, do not sin. One way to protect yourself from this is to be prepared. Pray that famous prayer - that God lead you not into temptation but deliver you from the evil one. Asking the Holy Spirit to raise red flags when we put ourselves in harm’s way can help us think before we act. And to immediately work things out with someone who has made us angry can help to quell things before they get out of hand. That is why Paul tells us not to let the sun go down while we are still angry. Because if we do, it might fester stirring up our anger to the point of causing us to sin.
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“In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger can lead to many unholy acts. It can even cause one to kill another, just look at Cain and Abel. I encourage you to heed this warning from Paul. If someone has made you angry, I challenge you to be the bigger person and smooth things over as soon as possible. Anger can drive a deep wedge between people. And something very simple can lead people to do very nasty things. Believers shouldn’t be that way. “In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”