Interestingly, the Lord actually commands His people to be angry! This may surprise or concern some believers who fail to study the entirety of scripture within context, but the Lord admonished believers at Ephesus to be angry. No doubt this was a call for a righteous anger with a cause, but nonetheless it was a call for anger. Why? The Bible points out that a godly anger can put a stop to sin. According to Proverbs 25:23, “The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.” This directly correlates to the context of Ephesians 4:26 as the surrounding passages speak of ceasing from sin. Simultaneous to the Lord admonishing believers to be angry, He also cautioned them not to let their righteous anger turn into sin.
Anger is not sinful, yet the source of one’s anger sometimes does manifest one’s sinful heart. Perhaps the prophet Jonah best demonstrates this truth. When the Lord first approached Jonah about the need in Nineveh, Jonah clearly displayed his displeasure in seeing the Lord work in the lives of the Ninevites. After experiencing the Lord’s chastening, Jonah appeared to have a heart change. Yet, it did not take long before his anger revealed his true feelings and thoughts. As the hearts of the Ninevites were becoming tender toward the Lord, the prophet’s heart was becoming hardened through anger. His anger revealed that he wanted his own will and not God’s.
