Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
I think we all are weary and fed up with all of the perpetual fault-finding, arguing, and hatred spewing forth in our political scene and in the news, these past few months. But what about within our own Christian circles when we point fingers and make slanderous accusations within the body of Christ? Paul saw a problematic, on-going, and hurtful situation within the church at Ephesus and spent many sentences warning and calling out the sin of anger in all of the various forms it comes out as, such as a brooding, smoldering, grudge-filled attitudes. Forgiveness is in sharp contrast to bitterness and malice, and is a safeguard for our emotional stability and mental health. Intimacy and closeness with Jesus is all based on forgiveness (Matt. 6:14,15) and showing kindness.
In various dictionaries, I found that the word “bitterness” was defined as a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will. Smoldering resentfulness was listed. Webster’s dictionary stated the meaning of “bitterness” involved, “A state of extreme impiety or enmity to God; tending to draw persons to apostasy.” This shows how dangerous the sin of bitterness is as it heads the list of the other sins that Paul names in Ephe. 4:31-32.
“Wrath” has to do with rage and often has to do with the moment’s passion.
“Anger” starts out internally and pours out from internal hostility.
“Clamor” is strife out of control.
What about “slander?” Why doesn’t that sin get much attention in our Christian circles compared to the other sins? Is it because of having a lack of humility which turns into pride and arrogance? I think of what Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 3:4, “For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?” Paul was disappointed in the Corinthian Christians that were having divisive behavior and acting out of jealousy. Paul was clear that he was a servant of Christ, as was Apollos, as was Peter. “For we are God’s fellow workers.” The results are all left in God’s hand of grace and power, and God used all. The question to be answered is are you, am I, following Jesus above any other person?
Am I able to put Ephe. 4:31-32 into practice when I have been wronged or someone in my family has been unjustly treated? I have my responsibility and God has His divine responsibility. I take comfort in Romans 12:19 that declares, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the LORD.” I will admit there is an instance I am praying for God to do just that currently. I have given God a specific amount I would like to see Him do, to be received provisionally, from a wrongful financially hurting situation caused for a family member of mine that is just plain wrong.
Too often I feel “they” need to pay for what they have done (not just for this current situation), in any instance that causes me loss, pain, and heartache. Do you? But what is the command, the fact, stated in these verses to apply? What character traits of God are shown here? Looking in the mirror, am I reflecting those same characteristics? What do I need to remove from my thoughts, my heart, when what I have sincerely done, and is my best effort, is misinterpreted and criticized wrongly, or maybe not even acknowledged? Have my words or thoughts then hurt the Holy Spirit? Those are hard questions to answer.
As the Amplified Bible’s version of Ephesians 4:31-32 states, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor (perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding) and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice (all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence). Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted (compassionate, understanding), forgiving one another (readily and freely), just as God in Christ also forgave you.”
Listen to Danny Gokey’s song Love God, Love People, July 23, 2020, (lyrics).