Is anger in itself a sin? This verse seems to tell us that it is not, but can lead to sin. Ephesians 4:26-27 says,
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Neither give place to the devil.
If we Christians are allowed to be angry, then what are the conditions?
By my own understanding, the verse means to only be angry at things that could anger God, such as sin. If another person accidentally wrongs me, but they clearly didn’t sin, then I have no right to be angry.
In search of more information, I read a number of articles which were of varying degree of help. The best one I found is here:
After reading this article, I had to interact with people on the road and in the stores. This allowed me to reflect on righteous anger a little more. Most of the time people are simply living their own lives, not sinning against me. Though I may consider actions inconsiderate, they’re almost never sinning against me. As a result, I need to temper any emotion. For those situations in the world I would get angry about but have no power to do anything (such many things the government does), any anger would simply be harboring resentment; I have no way of addressing (let alone by the end of the day). In these situations, I need to “sin not” and simply let it go.
I primarily need to concentrate on my own sin, and show anger by actively mortifying it. Secondarily, I need to be slow to anger externally, and take steps to resolve any issues positively & quickly.
