17 So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, 18 and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. 19 They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.
20 But you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. 21 Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, 22 change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. 23 Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit 24 and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.
25 Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor[a] because we are parts of each other in the same body. 26 Be angry without sinning.[b] Don’t let the sun set on your anger. 27 Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. 28 Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need.
29 Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. 30 Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. 32 Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.
5 Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. 2 Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God.
Reflection
Disagreement is a normal part of life. Even among Christians, we will not always see every issue the same way. We come from different backgrounds, have different experiences, and understand situations from different perspectives. The question is not whether we will disagree, but how we will treat one another when we do.
In our Scripture for today, Paul tells the church in Ephesus to get rid of lying and speak truthfully to one another. Honesty is essential to healthy relationships, but truth must be spoken with love, humility, and respect. Telling the truth does not give us permission to be cruel, insulting, or dismissive. We can express our convictions without attacking another person’s character. We can disagree without treating someone as an enemy.
Paul reminds us why this matters: “We are parts of each other in the same body.” When we hurt another believer, we are hurting a part of the body to which we also belong. In the body of Christ, winning an argument should never be more important than preserving love, unity, and mutual respect.
Paul then says, “Be angry without sinning.” Anger itself is not always sinful. There are things that should make us angry. Injustice, dishonesty, cruelty, abuse, and the suffering of innocent people should trouble us. Jesus became angry when people were mistreated and when religious leaders placed unnecessary burdens on others. Righteous anger recognizes that something is wrong and should compel us to do what we can to correct it.
However, anger becomes sinful when it begins to control us. It becomes sinful when we use it as an excuse to insult, threaten, humiliate, gossip about, or seek revenge against another person or group of people. It becomes sinful when we stop listening, assume the worst about others, or allow bitterness to take root in our hearts.
We can be angry without sinning when we pause before reacting. Instead of immediately speaking from our emotions, we can pray and ask God to guide our words. We can seek to understand before demanding to be understood. We can address the issue without attacking the person. We can speak firmly while still speaking respectfully.
We can also disagree without becoming angry at one another when we remember that the person in front of us is more important than the argument between us. We may strongly oppose someone’s position while still recognizing that they, too, are created in the image of God.
Paul also warns us, “Don’t let the sun set on your anger.” This does not necessarily mean that every disagreement must be completely resolved before bedtime. Some issues require time, prayer, and further conversation. It means that we should not hold tightly to anger, nurse resentment, or allow bitterness to remain unaddressed. We should be willing to seek peace, offer forgiveness, and continue working toward reconciliation.
Unresolved anger creates an opening for the devil. The enemy uses anger to divide families, churches, friendships, and communities. A small disagreement can become a lasting conflict when pride, resentment, and unforgiveness are allowed to grow.
The answer is found later in this passage. Paul tells us to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving, just as God forgave us in Christ. He then calls us to imitate God and to “live your life with love,” following the example of Jesus, who gave himself for us.
Jesus did not avoid difficult truths, but he always acted out of love. As his followers, we are called to do the same. We can speak honestly without being hurtful. We can confront wrongdoing without seeking revenge. We can disagree without hatred.
May God help us speak the truth in love, listen with humility, forgive generously, and disagree without destroying one another. May even our anger be surrendered to Christ so that our words and actions build up the body rather than tear it apart.
(This devotion was prepared with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.)
by Manny Estevez
For Pondering and Prayer
Are there disagreements in your life that have continued for too long and led to anger, bitterness, or division?How can you seek reconciliation with that person or group of people so that the anger can be resolved and the relationship can move forward in love?
Prayer: God of wisdom and grace, who are we called to be as your children? What characteristics do we need in order to fulfill your perfect and pleasing will? Sometimes it is difficult to live as we are called to live in Scripture. Your grace is freely given to each of us, and it is a grace that we should strive to extend to others in our daily lives. Work through us so that we may forgive those whom we believe do not deserve our forgiveness, just as you forgive us even though none of us is worthy of your grace. Help us to be better reflections of your image to the world. May everything we do and say build others up and ultimately bring glory to you. Amen.
(Prayer adapted from The CEB Student Bible, page 1400; Nicole Platti, age 18.)
