I won’t let the sun go down on me

Dr Iain Jamieson August 11, 2021 0 1

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Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (NIVUK)

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 ‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (5) 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Now any of you old enough to remember this line are going to remember Nick Kershaw’s hair in the 80s, rather like mine at that time. It stuck straight up and there was lots of it. Like me he is now follicularly challenged — still writes good songs though, although in this respect we perhaps part company.

Anyway, anger is easy peasy. It’s a whole lot easier to blame others for our problems than ourselves and sometimes people can attack our very sense of ourselves. In all of us is a little child who has been scolded by parents and we carry the expectation of hurt and shock long into our adult lives. It's just our nature and, equally as human beings, we are hardwired to focus on the negative. Much better to deflect — much better to say it's someone else fault. It's easy to be angry — really easy and hurtful words are just so much easier to articulate than words of kindness. We see this happening all over the world. Anger is just so much ‘simpler’, it offers simple solutions to complex problems, you can always blame ‘other’ if it — unsurprisingly — looms into focus that, well, the world just doesn’t work that way. This — I believe — is the face of evil. Blame, segregate, break down, stop listening and start shouting.

Read the verse again. What it’s saying is that anger destructs and love and forgiveness constructs.

“Do not give in to fear or anger for that way lies the dark side”, Yoda said that.

“Angry is easy but it takes more than it can ever give, Love is hard but it gives more than it can ever take”, I said that.

PRAYER:

Lord I’ve been so wronged, they’ve hurt me so badly, I want to tear their house of cards and misrepresentations and lies down. I want vengeance and vindication.

I’m sorry — that was just my anger talking.

Lord just let me let go of the chains that anger wraps around our hearts, set me free.

Let me just love and forgive and never let the devil take a foothold where you should be.