“you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desire; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new man, the one crated according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.”  Eph. 4:22-27

This week’s sermon dealt with speaking and communication and how our words are an overflow of our hearts. Our words can be used to build up or to tear down, an opportunity to display the grace and love of Christ or an opportunity for the devil. Paul states, “Let no corrupting talk come our of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear,” (Eph. 4:29) and to “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you.” (Eph. 4:31) All I could think when hearing that is, “Wow, am I in for a convicting sermon.” When I saw that this week’s scripture talked about anger I knew I was in trouble. You see, I hate to bring up the whole enneagram thing but I am a big ol’ 4, and for those of you unfamiliar with the specifics of that enneagram number that means (among other things) that I am a very emotionally driven person. I feel lots of things and I feel them very deeply and intensely, and yes, sometimes explosively. It is something that I struggle to accept about myself, because while, yes, there are some gifts that come along with being a person very in-tune with their feelings (empathy being one of them), there are a lot of things that make it a struggle; One of those struggles being anger.

Being a mom I feel like if I lose my temper it means I am not a good mother or wife.  I’ve found that anger can be a very isolating thing, it is something that is rarely acknowledged and feels very shameful and embarrassing. I have felt firsthand what Paul meant when he said “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.” (Eph. 4: 26-27) I’ve learned the hard way that unacknowledged anger will always lead to more anger.  It is so important to acknowledge and ask forgiveness when struggling with anger, not just for the purpose of mending relationships either, though that is of course a very important reason. Talking about your anger can present an opportunity for growth for everyone involved. It feels humbling to ask for help, but it definitely forces you to realize that you cannot rely on your own strength. Very few things will be harder, or humble you more, than asking forgiveness (especially from your own child); but at the same time, it allows a perfect opportunity to display the power, purpose and meaning of the gospel. Being accountable to others and speaking truth helps us to grow each other in the body of Christ, for “From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” (Eph. 4:16). Speaking truth in love (even to, or about ourselves) and asking forgiveness is a very important part in growing God’s people here on Earth. It is in this way that we can “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).

~Rachel Whippo