If I am the one who is angry, I am the one who has to take certain action because of it. I don't take it to the person I'm angry at, and expect them to resolve my anger for me by following a certain script. I work to resolve it quickly first, apart from them. I work at forgiving them, by venting my anger and managing my physiological response with my safe support people who can hear me out and allow me to be angry, while supporting me to get rid of it before the devil gets a foothold.
Stuffed anger is toxic.
"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." -Ephesians 4:26-27
It is MY responsibility to reach a place where I'm not still angry. I can get rid of anger by instead allowing myself to experience grief or sadness in its place, for sadness or grief isn't what I'm warned to not be found in at sundown. It's anger.. Why? What's the rush? So the devil doesn't get any space into the equation. Anger by itself isn't giving the devil a foothold. Holding onto it is. I can allow anger to trigger me in getting the help I need to get rid of it, and get rid of it fast. Not to hide it, conceal it, stuff it or deny it. To get RID of it.
Anger is like a malignant tumor. If I deny anger's existence and allow it to fester in me, it allows it to grow while being masked. I need to be aware and acknowledge its presence before I can remove it.
I'm learning that anger is much safer when it's confined and/or redefined as grief or sadness. Much safer. I can mourn, and I can then be comforted.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4
The earth is constantly rotating. The sun will eventually go down, no matter what I choose to do or not with my anger. Time alone doesn't get rid of anger, it nurtures and often masks it. I must be actively moving towards getting rid of my anger, not waiting for the feeling to pass on its own.
What happens when the sun goes down? Natural light fades and darkness takes over. Sure, we have the moonlight, but that isn't nearly as illuminating as the sunlight. Much can still hide when the moon is out. I'm much more prone to stumble by moonlight vs. sunlight. I need the light of the sun to guide me clearly, and it's only available for a certain period of time each day. I better take full advantage of that time while I'm being provided light from the sun. Numbing out doesn't work. For me, it means confining it to grief. It's easier for me to safely mourn over grief, than to vent out of anger. I create less damage while grieving pain versus venting in anger. But that's just me.
How do I sin in my anger? By cursing someone out? By getting revenge? -Perhaps, but it all starts in holding onto my anger and not quickly trying to get rid of it while not sinning. I'm learning to get rid of it by accepting pain (not running from it) and grieving over it, instead of denying pain and feeling pissed or irritated so easily. It hurts more in the front end, but in the long run it's much better for me and others. Much.
I'm not sure if there's an exact deadline I have in getting rid of my anger. That would change every day because the sun sets at a different time each night. My understanding of the point being made here is to not delay in getting rid of my anger, because the sun will soon go down, within 24 hours at lest. The longer I put it off, the more I'm at risk for sinning in my anger, giving the devil a foothold.
It's not necessarily a particular "action" that sets me up to sin in my anger...it's rather INACTION on the front end of being angry. It's risky business to not do anything about it on the front end.
Anger can motivate me to work on getting rid of it at the first awareness I have of it. And I want to be aware of it as it arises, for I do not want to give the devil a foothold. Managing my anger is about taking ACTION as I'm aware of its presence, not inaction. And by accepting grief in its place.
Anger + Inaction + Time = a perfect recipe for sin and giving the devil a foothold.
