"In your anger do not sin"

Ephesians 4:26 "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."

Have you ever been so angry with someone that you had to bite your tongue to keep from saying something really rude? Maybe you have had to try the old "counting to ten" trick to control your anger. If either of these sounds familiar, maybe you can empathize with how Simon Peter felt when Jesus was about to be arrested. The Bible tells us that Peter used a sword to strike off the ear of the high priest's servant,

Is there someone's ear that you'd like to take a swipe at? hope you haven't gotten this angry with anyone, but anger seems to be a normal part of life. Sometimes it's hard to keep our anger in check and not strike out with verbal or physical abuse. The emotion of anger is difficult to handle. Often anger means that there is something that really matters to us, something that we take very seriously. Anger itself is not sinful. Uncontrolled anger is sinful. The Bible tells us in Psalm 4:4 to "be angry and sin not". If we are to keep our anger in check, sometimes we must walk away from the person or thing that is creating the uncontrollable anger. If we need to channel our anger into a more suitable course of action, then we must face the issue and deal with it openly and honestly and with a desire to establish a better relationship with all those involved.

We must be willing to surrender ourselves to God. We must be willing to surrender our difficult situations to God. He can help us properly handle our feelings of anger. Sometimes God provides other caring people to help us with controlling our anger. Sometimes a pastor or a counselor or a good friend can help, We don't have to be ashamed of our anger, but we shouldn't let our anger control us. "In your anger, do not sin."

Rev. Charlotte Austin McCary's Chapel United Methodist Church