“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:25-27)
Now that we are in a presidential election, there is a lot of debate about candidates but also about what type of government we have. Do we have a Democracy or a Constitutional Republic? By definition, a republic is a representative form of government that is ruled according to a charter, or constitution, and a democracy is a government that is ruled according to the will of the majority who elect representatives to carry out their will. The Christian who acknowledges Jesus as King, however, lives in a Theocracy or Absolute monarchy. Our ruler is God. He rules by His sovereign will as set down in His law and His Word. He chooses us as His representatives or ambassadors not to rule over others or enforce His will, but to tell others of His love and grace as well as of the consequences of sin. We do not vote on His rules but abide by them and teach others to do the same.
This is what the Apostle Paul is teaching here in Ephesians. He is exhorting believers to live lives worthy of God’s Kingdom. We are called to be holy, to be separated from sin and live in purity and righteousness. We are not to live according to the ways of the world. We have been made one with Christ and so He expects and enables us to imitate Him. Paul cites several very concrete and balanced examples that point out the negative actions and attitudes, what we must not do or think, and the positive ones, what we should do and think. And the model for us to follow is Jesus Himself.
As we ponder these standards, we ought to consider Paul’s admonition about anger. What he says is totally contrary to the behaviors endorsed by our media and our politically divisive culture. Self-promoting politicians, celebrities, talking heads, and too many Americans seem to be enraged to the point of violence, slander, disrespect, and abuse.
While it is okay to be angry about injustice, immorality, and the lies that Satan uses to enslave people to sin, it is not okay to let that anger lead us to sin. Rather than angry rhetoric, demonstrations, marches, and inflammatory rhetoric, we Christians are called to promote truth and love. And the truth we are to proclaim is the gospel which tells us that we all are sinners. The truth is that Christ loves us as we are. The truth is that He exposes our sin and enables us to fight and overcome it, to change our way of thinking and living to glorify Him. The truth is we need to treat all others with the same love and kindness that Jesus shows us all, to forgive rather than hate. The Lord would rather we should be focused on Him and His Kingdom by living by His standards. So let us trust in Him by faith so He can enable us to use Godly wisdom to discern the truth from the lies.