If the day ends and you’re angry or have caused someone to be angry, then it has ended in the worst possible way. Anger left unattended can begin to breed resentment and bitterness and begin to harden the heart against another. For me, the way my day ends is far more important than how my day begins. In fact, as of late it has become critical for me to end my days well. My mission is to go to sleep tonight in the best possible way. By definition of my first sentence, this means to go to sleep NOT ANGRY! But there’s more to this.
The average day is long and grueling. By the end of it, we’re tired, stressed and probably less than satisfied with how it went. For most of us patience has nearly run out. If you have kids, this is where things can go one of two ways.
As a father, you don’t discipline your kids for doing something right, you discipline them for doing something wrong. This is good. At times anger will arise towards the wrong that was done. This is also good. But in this type of good-anger scenario a subtle twist can occur. What we wanted to correct for being wrong we now want to correct because it infringes on our time and relaxation. Discipline is hard work and when you want to rest you don’t want to work! But discipline is also love, so love is costly. To end the day well will cost you. It may cost you your time and plans. It may cost you every last bit of strength and self-control to pray for patience. Is it worth it? The fruit of your obedience will far outweigh the cost of your obedience. Be assured that once you’ve said goodnight and they’re asleep, the day is over. You cannot go back. Yes, everyday is a new day, but knowing that tomorrow is coming is not an excuse for our anger today. We must spend our last moments with our kids in patience and self-control, not because we can’t wait for them to be gone, but because tomorrow depends upon it. We reap what we sow.
James 1:20 says that sinful anger will not produce righteous results. So what is sinful anger?
Paul says in Ephesians 4:26 that we should not let the sun go down on our anger. In other words, don’t sin by going to bed with anger in your heart! This is sinful anger and this is important because of the next verse: and don’t give the Devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:27) By going to bed angry (or by causing and/or allowing someone else to go to bed angry) we have opened up a passageway by which the devil could enter into our heart. Now this is applicable to husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends, anyone and everyone. To allow the sun to go down on our anger is sin against God and a helping hand to the devil. At it’s furthest point this will result in our being unwilling to forgive someone and, therefore, God being unwilling to forgive us. (Matthew 6:15) At it’s closest point this will result in silence, awkwardness and unspoken hurt. Whether in our relationship with God or with one another, sinful anger brings death and not life.
This is huge for me. I don’t want my children to spend their last minutes awake feeling and harboring anger. I don’t want to wake up feeling justified in my anger because I didn’t repent when convicted of that same anger the night before. Sin hardens and before you know it your numb to it. I would rather lay my head down knowing that I have fought for my family. I have fought by grace to end the day well. Then the Holy Spirit can have access to my heart and to the hearts of my children (my wife, friend, etc.). He will work and produce His fruit in us even as we sleep. I can go to bed grateful, knowing that when we awake we can begin the day in the best possible way.
No comments:
Post a Comment