"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." (Ephesians 5:26-27)
Anger is a very powerful motivator. Enough people together in one place all mad about the same thing can really effect major changes in history. Anger gives a rush of energy to get things done. Nothing gets my house cleaner faster than a big fat dose of ticked-off. Not even Diet Coke gives those kinds of superpowers. Many of us can run off the energy from anger for hours. Some people can even stoke their anger on a regular basis and power themselves by it for years.
At what cost though? No one really wants to be thought of as an angry person. Who wants people tiptoeing around them on eggshells all the time? It really hurts when you realize that people would rather lie to you than tell you the truth because they're afraid of how you are likely to react.
Anger eventually leads us into sin. A mild annoyance turns into an opportunity to shred your best friend to smithereens. We put the worst construction on simple mistakes and recount every flaw of a loved one as we rip her up once side, down the other, and through the center. Like a snowball, it's hard to stop once you get going, and anger causes us to overreact and hurt others. That's probably why the Lord tells us in His Word not to stay angry for very long. Doing so gives the devil opportunity to tempt us into even more sin.
That's where the guilt comes in. We realize how our anger has hurt our friends and loved ones. We see the deplorable people we've become. We hear the rumors about being difficult and scary and try to be stoic and at like they don't affect us. We might even lash out with even more anger to seem tough as nails. But it still stings to hear what we've done and who we've become. A lot. The devil loves to make us feel guilty. It's just one step away from despair.
Even good Christians can fall into despair. We know all the good theology - the Law and the Gospel, even the "FOR YOU" of it, and how it all works, and the right words to say, etc. We might even regularly say and teach them to others. But with enough guilt, we despair that the Gospel really is for us and fall into utter disbelief. We are actually tempted to punish ourselves more than the Lord Himself does, and even reject the gift of His forgiveness when it is offered. We fall into the all-too-easy trap of resolving to do better, rearrange our priorities, do whatever it takes to fix the mess and change....which is exactly the kind of rejection of Christ and His all-atoning death that the Devil wants from us.
The reason we know the right theology, know how it all works that Christ has died for us and forgives our sins, even know the words to say is not because of some quality in us or something we've done. It's only by faith working in us. That's the Holy Spirit. He's the One behind that quietly nagging voice reminding us of the Truth just when we least want to hear it - but most need to. That Voice of the Law breaking through our walls when we're all alone to show us how we've sinned against others and against our Lord is the same the Voice of the Gospel reminding us of our Baptismal faith - even when we least believe it.
It's really that easy. And that free. Our Lord died to make it that easy, to make it that free for us. We don't believe it because it's too good to be true, it's too easy, too free. It's not fair! We might even be tempted to lash out in anger at being deprived of our opportunity to do it ourselves! The punishment that we want to make up for our sins, Christ took that all upon Himself. The good works to earn our way into our Father's favor again, Christ has done perfectly on our behalf. It's already done, and already ours.
That's why faith, and only faith, says, "Amen."
