“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” (Ephesians 4:26, NASB)

When I read that verse for the first time many years ago, it literally stopped me in my tracks. Be angry but do not sin — what does that even mean? I was a new Christian, but knew I had issues with anger. They were buried, but still there, just below the surface. The right set of circumstances could set me off.

There were many things our government did during the Vietnam War that angered me. Having spent half of my time in Vietnam living in villages with the people made me very sympathetic to the way they had to live.

The way politicians treated Vietnam toward the end of the war ensured the communists would eventually take over the country. If we went to war to stop communism, why did we just literally surrender Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to the communists? It made no sense; why did we even go? You bet I had anger!

I patted myself on the back thinking I wasn’t as bad as the war protesters. I compared myself to John Kerry, who called his fellow veterans barbarians and threw his medals over the White House fence. They probably didn’t mean much to him. After all, he recommend himself for most of them.

But the anger was real, and I knew I could not grow spiritually until I resolved it. Forgiving those who made you angry goes a long way toward healing. I hated the communist soldiers we were fighting … until I met my enemy face to face.

Most of the former communist soldiers I met after returning to Vietnam had believed the lies of their communist leaders: that they were fighting to unify the country. After the war, however, many realized they had been told lies. They were now fathers and grandfathers who wanted a better life for their children. Now, I hate the philosophy of communism, not those deceived by it.

We can carry that anger over to what we are seeing happening across our country right now: violent protests over the policy of removing criminal illegal immigrants from our country. Those who want to protect criminals over citizens lie with impunity, and they are protected by a legacy media that wants America brought to its knees. Don’t hate the protesters, but have a righteous anger toward those who have lied and deceived them into thinking they are the “good guys” fighting fascism.

Public education has dumbed down generations of our youth. They’re taught to feel, not think, and that America is evil and the poor of the world deserve to be here, cared for by the rest of us. They have been every bit deceived to believe a lie as Eve was in the Garden of Eden when Satan convinced her God was not fair. America is not fair either, our children are told, and they believe the lie. They are not the enemy, but they have bought into the lie.

This is a spiritual battle, and it won’t be resolved and can’t be resolved in the flesh. The Apostle Paul gave us the strategy:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [protesters], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)

There’s where the problem lies, but Paul laid out the solution if you read on in vv. 13-17. God has provided us with spiritual armor to fight a spiritual battle. This is a battle we can no longer avoid, pretend is not real, or run away from, nor fight in our own strength. America needs an army of spiritual warriors to have any hope for the future of this country.

So, armor up, warrior!
Semper Fidelis