‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,and do not give the devil a foothold.  (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV)

Many deem anger to be a sin, so to what does Paul elude here?  Actually, he quotes from the Septuagint:

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
    You have given me relief when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honour be turned into shame?
    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;
    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. (Psalm 4:1-4)

David is crying out to God but also pleading with his enemies (possibly rhetorically).  He is asking them to bear their anger and not act upon it.  And it is this that Paul reiterates to the man and woman now set apart in Christ to deal differently with anger, knowing full well that any opposition, prejudice or persecution will provoke anger.

The Greek that Paul uses and is translated ‘be angry’ is a verb, ὀργίζω orgizó and it means ‘to have a settled anger’, in contrast to a flash of temper.

Paul is saying that anger will be in the normal range of emotions for the regenerate man, indeed even Jesus.  Before the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, with the dead man’s sister:

When Jesus saw (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. (John 11:33)

Now because the context is mourning and that John tells us that Jesus goes on to weep himself (ibid 11:35), should not take away from the true meaning of the word translated ‘greatly moved’; ἐμβριμάομαι embrimaomai means ‘to be moved with anger’ or ‘to experience profound indignation’ or even ‘to roar with rage’; the word is onomatopoeic, and likens an expression of anger to the snorting of a horse.

Jesus is appalled by the cruelty and viciousness of the world and its ruler, Satan, and so should all Jesus’ followers; but herein lies a trap, being angry with Satan and his works, can so easily be manifested in striking out against people, thus the devil gains a foothold.  Only Jesus subverted this, taking the world’s anger on himself – to say nothing of the God’s wrath at human rebellion. 

Judgment falls to Jesus alone (John 5:22) precisely because he is perfect in obedience and thereby kept faith with his father:

I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.  (John 5:30)

– and no other is bidden to judge… 

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 

(Matthew 7:1-2)  

Thus, concerning anger, Jesus says:

I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement… (Matthew 5:22a)

Jesus’ half-brother understands well what forces are at work here:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  (James 1:19-20)

Anger is always a judgment call.  For someone to be infer a wrong, they must first discern there is wrongdoing, it is this discernment that will in turn be judged. 

Mostly people get angry because a deed transgresses their own morality but God’s morality is stated through the commandments; those of Moses in the Old Covenant and Jesus in the New.  But anger is not required, the Law and Jesus makes it clear what needs to be done – for the church Jesus commands the disciplinary process, Matthew 18:15-20.  Indeed, the sole requirement is forgiveness and thus ‘never let the sun go down on your anger’:

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’  (Romans 12:17-19)

God can repay because his justice that flows from his complete righteousness is perfect.  Thus: 

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.  (Proverbs 29:11)

Within this byword lies a deeper wisdom.  Whether professing or denying Christ, sooner or later any man or woman has to confront that the world lets them down.  Whilst growing up, none escape fostering some hope in the world, whether it be for a good marriage or the perfect partner; to have many children, all talented and intelligent; or for wealth, power or status.  The degree to which any cling to Biblical thinking will certainly moderate this delusion, but that said, any hopes may have the appearance of Godliness, say to be an acknowledged pastor or missionary, widely lauded and successful in their ministry, yet founder.  Paul himself, in his valediction to Timothy wrote with sadness of his ministry in Ephesus:

At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! (2 Timothy 4:16)

At this point, when angry at the frustration of ambition, one can blame people or God, one can be angry with people or rant at God.

People that think themselves thwarted by other people might channel that anger – which is a fierce energy, after all – into overcoming those that appear to oppose them, doing down their opponents or enemies…this is the way of the world.  

Others, through revelation, understand that as God is charge, there is only one place to bring their complaint, before His throne.  Notable Godly men that have done this, include Job:

My complaint is with God, not with people.  (Job 21:4 NLT)

And Habakkuk:

How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
    But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
    but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds?
    Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
    I see destruction and violence.  (Habakkuk 1:2-3)

And of course, David, whom Paul quoted above, almost berating God for his indigence.

Is it ungodly to be angry with God?  Jesus has these words:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

To rail against the injustice of the world or rant at God achieves nothing.  Any may make plans, but it is the wisdom of God to know that none can be expected to succeed, unless they align with God’s:

Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ -yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’  (James 4:13-15) 

Thence comfort only visits those who having realised that all their youthful dreams arose from human imagination and desire, put aside bitterness and anger and grieve over their loss.  Being meek, means submitting to God and his plans for one’s life, therein counter-intuitively lies even mortal gain.

But more importantly, bearing in mind James metaphor that mortal life is but a transient and ephemeral as morning mist, submitting to God’s will secures one’s immortal future:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?  (Mark 8:36-37)

Anger, then, can lead to sin; yet the greatest sin of all is not found in taking one’s complaint to God, but turning one’s back on him.  To the early church, mostly if not exclusively Jewish, the writer of Hebrews addresses this apostasy:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.  (Hebrews 10:26-27)

It is then that God’s anger is revealed, as it was before to Israel:

So, the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God.  (2 Kings 17:18)

Human anger is terrible, destructive and ugly, but none want to risk God’s settled judgment of wrath:

The Lord will judge his people.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30-31)

‘His people’ now includes those of other nations, but the process of judgment is the same. Thus, the angry will be expelled from his presence. Speaking of the eternal city, Jesus tells the Apostle John in his vision:

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practises falsehood. (Revelation 20:15)

And this will include those who murder in thought and word, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.  (Matthew 5:21-22)

Anger is a natural emotion but the follower of Christ is commanded to bridle his emotions, because the alternative is to give Satan a foothold.  The devil’s whisper is always to impugn God and his good purpose, just as in Eden; therefore, the choice is between trusting God to have a better plan for one’s life than any self-constructed, and through acceptance of one’s circumstances, have no cause for anger with anyone including God.