Balthazzar
Christian Evolutionist
Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry and sin not; do not let the sun go down upon your wrath."
What does this mean, exactly? Does it mean not to give into anger to the point that we find ourselves breaking a commandment, or does it mean something else? Does this have to do with living by the sword and dying by the sword? From what I understand, taking a life has a way of stealing your own spirit, which leaves those who do take a life in a tormented state, feeling spiritually dead inside. If this is true, isn't it ok to be angry sometimes, and even to lash out when too much is placed on you, after you've exhausted the command to turn the cheek? If not, then wouldn't that border on creating victims of the Christian body? I turn my cheek over and over and utilize self control and a non violent spirit to the point where I've chosen to utilize a scourge as a penance because of my anger. Is this a better option than lashing out at others?
Edit: Since I view the entire human population to represent the body of Christ, albeit some further along the path than others, this may be an acknowledgment of human suffering and our part in creating it. I try to temper my anger, created from the difficulty I face in life, and I suppose what I practice is an attempt to decrease my own suffering. I sometimes wonder if life has become about our endurance as humans. Acknowledging that we are often enough responsible for human suffering in the world, I only utilize a scourge as a penance when I can't tolerate something disturbing my well-being, and I utilize it as an effort to decrease my own suffering. The pressures of life build up over a period of time to the point where I feel compelled to relieve myself from the duress. Life has become about suffering and I've become angry about it and very likely due to the fact that I've always lived my life in peace and for the betterment of our communities, even when I found myself falling short of other people's expectations.
So being angry and not sinning is ringing a bell in my life and becoming increasingly more difficult, but at least the penance scourge offers a way to direct the anger in an acknowledgment that human suffering is not limited to just myself .... It keeps me in remembrance that life is difficult for lots and lots of people, lest I forget and lose my way.
What does this mean, exactly? Does it mean not to give into anger to the point that we find ourselves breaking a commandment, or does it mean something else? Does this have to do with living by the sword and dying by the sword? From what I understand, taking a life has a way of stealing your own spirit, which leaves those who do take a life in a tormented state, feeling spiritually dead inside. If this is true, isn't it ok to be angry sometimes, and even to lash out when too much is placed on you, after you've exhausted the command to turn the cheek? If not, then wouldn't that border on creating victims of the Christian body? I turn my cheek over and over and utilize self control and a non violent spirit to the point where I've chosen to utilize a scourge as a penance because of my anger. Is this a better option than lashing out at others?
Edit: Since I view the entire human population to represent the body of Christ, albeit some further along the path than others, this may be an acknowledgment of human suffering and our part in creating it. I try to temper my anger, created from the difficulty I face in life, and I suppose what I practice is an attempt to decrease my own suffering. I sometimes wonder if life has become about our endurance as humans. Acknowledging that we are often enough responsible for human suffering in the world, I only utilize a scourge as a penance when I can't tolerate something disturbing my well-being, and I utilize it as an effort to decrease my own suffering. The pressures of life build up over a period of time to the point where I feel compelled to relieve myself from the duress. Life has become about suffering and I've become angry about it and very likely due to the fact that I've always lived my life in peace and for the betterment of our communities, even when I found myself falling short of other people's expectations.
So being angry and not sinning is ringing a bell in my life and becoming increasingly more difficult, but at least the penance scourge offers a way to direct the anger in an acknowledgment that human suffering is not limited to just myself .... It keeps me in remembrance that life is difficult for lots and lots of people, lest I forget and lose my way.
Last edited: