Go to bed angry?

[Nancy]

Welcome to another edition of, “Does the Bible really say THAT?”

Has this ever happened to you? I’ll be sitting in Sunday School or in Church service and the teacher or pastor refers to a passage of scripture to support his or her teaching and I’ll cringe a little. Not out of conviction from the Holy Spirit, but because I know that the passage does not teach the principle stated and that everyone within hearing is missing the truth.

Now any teacher, myself included, is guilty of making this mistake. It is often an innocent mistake motivated by pure intentions, but it can lead others astray nonetheless. It is often caused by careless preparation and mishandling of the text. And the errant teaching is often a regurgitation of popular Christian sayings or traditions. It is the sin of prooftexting.

I’ll give you an example.

You have heard it said, “Don’t go to bed angry.” It is a popular Christian principle to resolve conflict before you go to bed. While this may be a great principle to live by, it is not a principle taught by this passage. This is a prooftext of Ephesians 4:26-27 (NAS)

“BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”

What does the text say?

The NAS translation is very true to the original language except it adds “yet”. The Greek says, “Be angry and do not sin.” Also the translators took liberty with the word translated “opportunity.” The word means “place” as in “foothold”, but the meaning of the phrase is a warning against giving the devil an opportunity to tempt a believer into unrighteous behavior. The phrase “do not let the sun go down on your anger” means “do not let your anger end.”

What does the text mean?

The context of the passage is Paul’s call for the believers in Ephesus to live holy lives, remain righteous and to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Righteous anger toward sin is not permitted, it is commanded. “Be angry.” Because you and I are sealed with the Holy Spirit, we have a new relationship with sin. The sin we once loved, we now hate. We are commanded to not relax that relationship, for if we do we will give the enemy a foothold. Paul contrasts righteous behavior with unrighteous behavior throughout this passage and the entirety of the letter. He warns us to no longer walk as we once did, depraved, callous and greedy. He calls this our former life. We have been taught in Christ to put on the likeness of God in holiness and truth. We are commanded to guard our hearts by remaining angry with sin and not let down our guard.

What is the application?

You have heard it said, “Don’t go to bed angry.” But I tell you, “Go to bed angry and do not sin.” Guarding our hearts and minds requires a diligent and tireless commitment to righteousness. Speaking truth is often not the most popular thing to do, but speaking the truth with gentleness and respect is always the right thing to do.

Jesus often taught the Israelites by quoting a popular Pharisaical teaching and correcting that teaching. It was necessary for him to do that because many of his hearers did not know the word of God and so they were ill-prepared to challenge the teaching of their leaders. Paul commended the Bereans because they did not just take his word when he gave them the gospel. They tested his words against the truth they were already given in the Hebrew Scriptures. Unfortunately, in a country where the Bible can be readily accessed with a touch of a button this is the most biblically illiterate generation since the founding of our country. We now gain our theology from popular Christian sound bites rather than engaging scripture for ourselves. When the church is content with being told what to believe without testing the spirits, we not only give Satan a foothold, we give him command of the house

[Francis Drake]

I guess we should be angry enough to kill the flesh, taking up our cross daily to crucify it and its soulish preferences.

[Nancy]

Yes, the word translated wrath or anger refers to the cause of the anger. We are to remain angry at sin as the context addresses sin among the believers at Ephesus.

[Nancy]

To not let the sun go down on something means to not let it end.

[Nancy]

I found reference to an old Latin proverb. "He who goes to bed angry has the devil as a bedfellow." It is possible that Paul was drawing from this popular proverb, although I do not know how old this proverb is. However, the phrase "do not let the sun go down on _____" meant do not let ____ end. For instance, do not let the sun go down on our love, or do not let the sun go down on this pact, all instances call for a continuation of the reference.

[Nancy]

St Aurelius Augustin appeals to this verse in explaining the need to resolve an offense suffered from a brother before presenting offerings upon the alter in Matthew. The requirement of immediacy in dealing with righteous anger is a guard against sinning in anger. The anger is not the sin, for righteous anger is holy. It is the danger of commiting a sin motivated by a lingering harm which is an inately human behavior. Although for those who bear the likeness of God, as Paul is referring, we can remain angry at the cause of the anger (that being sin) born of our new relationship with sin, but still refrain from committing sin as a reaction to the harm done.

[Ryan Trent]

I agree with Nancy. "Be angry" sounds like a command to me.