Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Summary: Paul gives us a blunt instruction to “get rid” of all things unholy. Before we come before God asking for his favor, we need to examine ourselves carefully.
Why does Paul have to tell us this? Since we have the Holy Spirit in us, doesn’t it seem odd that God would have Paul write this stuff down for us? As I ponder this question, I find myself thinking of the various means of communication we experience in life.
Paul is the equivalent of a two-by-four upside the head. In a word, he is “blunt.” The Holy Spirit is powerful but is sensitive to our will. If our heart is soft towards God, his Spirit can make its presence known to our spirit. If our heart is full of the things Paul lists in today’s passage, we do not leave room for God’s Spirit.
It is as if we come before God holding a golden plate. This plate is where we keep everything important to us. We come to God hurting and broken, very aware of our failings. We want God to heal the hurt and fill our plate with love, joy, and peace. Everyone wants these things. Yet, if our plate is already full, where is God going to put the love, joy, and peace that we desire?
Because we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), we each come equipped with a sense of justice. Originally, our sense of justice was calibrated to match God’s sense of justice. When Adam and Eve rebelled and disobeyed God, our “calibrator” was broken. Without God, our sense of justice is based on our sense of right and wrong instead of God’s.
Because we are separated from God and blind to our own faults (Matthew 7:1-5), we are prone to see the faults of others as larger than life. A little offense in God’s eyes becomes a big offense to us personally. As we ponder each offense, our focus on them makes them seem larger than they are, and our sense of justice demands retribution. Just as a tiny sliver of bark dust can irritate the skin like a wound a thousand times bigger, our focus on each offense makes them feel bigger than they are. The result is ”bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
When God compares the offenses we have endured to the pain we have caused him, he is probably torn between ironic laughter and shaking his head in disgust. (See Matthew 18: 21-35) Needless to say, if we come begging for love, joy, and peace, but our golden plate is full of other things, there is little God can do except send Paul with instructions on how to make room for God’s love by emptying our plate of sin.
Application: Let’s take the “plank” out of our own eyes.
Food for Thought: How are “bitterness, rage and anger” related to pride?
How are “bitterness, rage and anger” related to pride?
I think it is important to distinguish between being proud of someone or something and being prideful.
Being proud of someone or something is a feeling of gratitude and thankfulness for the connection. There is humility in it. I think this verse is a good example:
Psalm 139:14 ESV I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Being prideful speaks to “pride of life.” That we are self-sufficient, without blame, that we “need” to push an agenda, that our agenda is justified. Even more so, that we are more important than God and our neighbor. It is a burning in the heart, fueled by the desire to be the most important; “Bitterness, rage and anger” come when we recognize we are not.
1 John 2:16 ESV For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Chris,
Thank you! I like your distinction between “pride” and “pride of life.” That is a great introduction to our discussion about pride and anger today.
How are “bitterness, rage and anger” related to pride?
They’re all about protecting the three most important people: me, myself, and I.
Wow. Nicely said, TAN!
Thank you!
Good comments. I like how T.A.N. concisely stated their point. To forgive a debt we feel is owed to us is a selfless act. Pride is only concerned about what I have coming to me. I think it is why when someone is cut off in traffic that it can lead to road rage instead of just letting it go. The feeling is – “you can’t do that to me.” It is pride. 1 Peter 5: 5 – 6 tells us that we should humble ourselves. That is the cure to pride. If and when we do – bitterness, rage and anger lose their hold on us.
Thank you, Rich!
In one sense, being “humble” is simply seeing ourselves as we really are. It is hard to be arrogant when standing next to something a million times bigger and stronger than we are. What made David unique as he stood before Goliath was that Goliath thought he was the biggest, baddest guy in town while David saw him as an insignificant speck next to the God of the Universe. David wasn’t prideful before Goliath, he was simply humble before God.
07-26-2023, How are “bitterness, rage and anger” related to pride?
In Genesis 1:31, God declared all He had made to be “very good.” Pride is not “very good” and was not in mankind as God created them, but entered in response to Satans temptation, Genesis 3:5.
1.) Pride Is the Root of All Evil, 1 Timothy 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17
2.) Pride Is Deceptive, John 8:31-36; Jeremiah 49:16; Proverbs 16:2
3.) God Hates Pride, Proverbs 8:13; Daniel 4:29-37; James 4:6
Bitterness, rage and anything other than righteous anger are not of God. They are physical manifestations of a spiritual weakness toward our God or an ordained event in our lives. The result of our choosing to live and express an emotional physical response of our flesh over a godly spiritual response. To determine and pass judgement on good and evil, according to our standards, or give authority to do so to the opinions of men is a sign of pride in our abilities to determine godly conduct as we assume the authority to pridefully choose and express bitterness, and anger.
Genesis 3:5, mans original sin!
Believers have received forgiveness of all sins, access to God through His Son Jesus Christ and are called to live our lives in the humility we displayed when convicted of our sins by the Holy Spirit.
Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Ron,
Excellent study on pride! Thank you.
I like your phrase, “spiritual weakness.” That describes well what happens when we are not wholly in the Spirit. That is something to keep in mind as we walk through each day.