Being angry.

“In your anger do not sin.” Ephesians 4:26

From our text anger in itself is not a sin. Anger alerts us that something has gone wrong. It’s a sign that we have suffered an injustice, or treated unfairly. You can’t keep anger from happening but you can make sure that it doesn’t do collateral damage. If we are not careful, anger easily ignites other destructive sins.

So how do we keep the energy of our anger from bringing sin into our lives? One of the keys is to be slow to anger. The Bible says: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. (Psalm 103:8)

Being slow to anger will give us time to evaluate our emotion. We might ask the Lord to show us if our emotion is really justified, have we done anything to contribute to the situation that has caused the anger in the first place. Slowing down gives us time to ask ourselves: “Do I have all the facts, is this situation even worth my anger? What could I do to be a part of the solution by showing God’s patience, love, and compassion?”

It’s all about counting to 10—in a spiritual sort of way!