“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Ephesians‬ ‭4:31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That’s easier said than done…

We’re all guilty of the things that Saint Paul told the people of the church of Ephesus to get rid of. Bitterness? Yeah, it happens when things seem unfair to us or we think we deserved a blessing that was bestowed on someone else. Rage and Anger? Just get behind the wheel of a car and you’ll either feel these emotions or see them acted out on the streets by other drivers!

Many of us don’t see brawling happen much anymore, unless we’re at a sporting event with a lot of drunk fans or watching fights on social media. Slander? We’re guilty of this any time we talk about someone in a negative way. Malice is defined as “a desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness,” and which of us hasn’t wished “injury, harm or suffering” on someone at one time or another.

So what’s the remedy to all of this hatred, anger, and physical harm? Paul follows up his list of bad human attributes with the answer:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash