Ephesians 4.25-32: 25 Therefore, having put away
falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are
members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down
on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no
longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands,
so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no
corrupting talk come out 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. 30 And do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
Sounds like a simple life, doesn’t it; a life of peace
and harmony; a life of dealing honestly, lovingly, and genuinely with others.
Truth was never intended to be a club and truth must be married to kindness,
tenderheartedness, and forgiveness – or it doesn’t work; or do its work.
What is said can
never be unsaid, and a broken trust is not easily mended. Truth cannot be
shared without kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Be angry and do not sin – what the bleep
does that mean? It means there is a time for anger but anger must be resolved
in a timely manner or it becomes a monster that isn’t easily dealt with and becomes
a dangerous obstacle to kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. The
offended and the offender must remember this or anger will have its way - for the anger of man does not produce the
righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness
and receive with (self-control) the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls. (James 1.20-21 ESV)
Use the creativeness we have to do good and be productive
because the effort it takes and the damage caused by theft only complicates problems,
not solves them. Speech must be seasoned with favor so that our hearers may be
built up, not put down; favored not flattered.
Grieving God by throwing cold water on the passion,
presence, and zeal of the Holy Spirit is not smart, and only comes by being
selfish. Bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander are noxious
weeds which must be eradicated or else they’ll spread and take over.
For me, it’s been a rough week inside, and these words
have helped me to review and regroup. None of this means anything without
maintaining my focus on God and putting aside the pettiness of life, striving
for kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. My Protection is Him and only
when I wander off into other distractions do I find myself enmeshed in stupid
stuff that robs me of peace and fills me with thoughts of performance, power,
and position. My focusing only on God makes those evils go away.
Father, I pray to appropriate Your grace to accept the
things I cannot change and use Your courage to change the things I can. I pray
for wisdom to know the difference and for strength in my inner man to remember
what is important and to stop striving for what is not. Rough weeks are what
they are and I pray to learn the lessons that I may be kind, tenderhearted, and
forgiving as in Christ, You have been to me – amen.
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