Get on track: Be Honest
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25–ESV)
The Vegas way is the way of lies and dishonesty. “…Having put away falsehood.” See how Paul plops that into the past? The evangelists that came in and about the Ephesian population taught that falsehood was to be put away. When one of those individual citizens said, “Yes, I want to follow Christ,” they put away falsehood. They placed that type of life behind them.
Paul reminded them of this: “You put that away.” Having done that now speak the truth. You are on this side of the tracks. Your cleansed heart must talk that way. Members of the same family are to have the same goals. Live with those goals.
Paul is not saying, “Go tell people that Jesus Christ died on the cross.” That is truth, but that is not what is being taught here. Paul is saying, “Do not lie or deceive in an effort to advance your interests.” We want others to think of us in a certain way. What happens when circumstances threaten how we think others will look at us? Do we make up stories to explain our misbehaviors? “Yeah, I did that, but this is why.” Inside the explanation come layers, nuance, craft.
When a person becomes a Christian, layers, nuance, and craftiness in speaking must be set behind us. We must find our confidence in Jesus Christ, in truth. It is easy to hunt for confidence in other places. Live
Get on track: Diffuse anger
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, (Ephesians 4:26–ESV)
Anger happens. It is an emotion unavoidable, but an emotion that needs taming. Paul is not writing of righteous indignation, such as Jesus put on display when he tossed from the temple those men who were in the business of worship-profiteering.
Paul is saying, “When your anger flares, diffuse it.” The life choices those around us make will frequently vex us. They do something and anger fires in our hearts. It is automatic and sudden. The NIV says, “In your anger do not sin.” The flare is not the sin. It leads to it.
“See a woman; like a woman; lust for the woman.” That is a spectrum reviewed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Seeing the woman is not the sin. What you do with the things she triggers in your heart can be.
That anger flares over something another person does is not the sin. That may come next but take every thought captive. Pray, focus on the wrongness of anger, not the false pleasure of it.
When Paul writes of not letting the sun go down he is not saying, “Be sure to apologize to your spouse before you sleep.” In many cases, the thing you spouse did or said may have fired anger on your inside. These things may or may not have bubbled out your lips. If you have kept your mouth shut, good. James spoke of keeping the tongue tamed. You still may be seething, though. Before you sleep, take these Las Vegas
If you eat bad lettuce before you sleep you likely will wake with the effects of bad lettuce. If you go to sleep with a lozenge of anger in your mind you may get the effects in your dreams. It may be sweet in your mouth, but it will sour your stomach. It may even transfer the anger to another day.
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