You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭13‬
You shall not murder.‭‭

Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭26‬-‭27‬
“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.

Anger blinds. It blinds us from seeing God’s hand in life and the opportunities he presents for us to love the unlovable, to serve the undeserving, and to sacrifice and even die for the ones who have hurt us or persecuted us.

Anger is not something people will state as a reputable quality at any memorial service. Love, serving, and sacrifice are almost always mentioned as some of the fondest memories.

I have watched family members and friends burn up with anger on the inside at unfairness, tragedy, or hard circumstances. They are relationally and spiritually paralyzed. The sad thing is that Jesus offers to heal them, if they will only obey him and forgive. I have also seen amazing miracles of changed hearts happen, when unconditional love is shown to those who are proud and bitter.

Why is Jesus putting anger as the first law he discusses in detail in the Sermon on the Mount? Why does he hammer on the harsh consequences of the smallest amount of anger, like saying “You fool!”? It is because anger starts small and multiples ever-so-quickly in a heart that does not remove it. And we can only truly remove anger once and for all by the power of the Spirit of God.

Anger can change focus, it can shift blame, it can go dormant for a while, or it can even be hidden; but it can never be fully extinguished without God’s power — his power of forgiveness and love.

So the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians to not let the sun go down on our anger. He warns us to not even give it a foothold in our lives. It corrodes and eats away at the heart, spiritually, like a flesh-eating acid does to a person. It is a horrible way to live and a painful way to die.

Let love rule the day and forgiveness lead the way, and anger will retreat and run away!

Lord, thank you that through your Spirit you have allowed me to forgive many who have wronged me and freed me from the prison of anger. Now I am free to love others well. I, by myself, would be an angry man; one of the worst. But you redeemed me and restored my heart to love, serve, and sacrifice like Jesus did, and my life gets lived way above my personal abilities.