Today's Devotion

Ephesians 4:26-32 (New Testament, The Bible)

Verse 26: "Be angry, and yet do not sin..."

Is there a contradiction of terms here? "Be" and then "do not". What kind of exhortation is this? Can one really be angry, and yet not sin? I think so. I can be angry, and yet don't slam the door. The door is not at fault.
Lots of people have the ability and power to agitate and frustrate me. Really. But whether or not I express my anger when they do is entirely my choice. People don't "make me" angry; I allow myself to express my anger.
Truth is: No one, absolutely no one else can make me respond aggressively or inappropriately when I feel anger. It seems just exactly the opposite, that because my constant and chosen response to feeling anger has become so routine that it seems "automatic". It feels as if the person or event triggered my anger and caused my angry response but in actual fact I was just giving excuses. I set to 'auto-pilot' mode as far as anger is concerned. And that needs to be changed, and soon.
Reality is: so many of my responses to anger result from learned behavior. I learned it long ago, from people I grew up with and around. And the scary thing is that I learned it so informally and subtly that I was not even aware of it.
I have reflected and come to realise that anger is an inescapable fact of life. No one is spared. Even my Lord kanna before. It's there, read it. But the experience of anger is different from the expression of anger. What I feel about angry situation that arises, versus what I do with my anger, how I express it and manage it, is another matter.
The good news I discovered is that what I have learned I can also unlearn, and even relearn new responses. By the constant renewal of the mind and active obedient to the prompting of the Spirit, it is possible for me to manage my anger in a God-honoring way.

Here am I, I can do no other, so help me, God. May my outward expression reflects my inward obedience as a result of my upward experience.

Be angry, and not sin.