Ephesians 4:26, 27
Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Kristie and I were enjoying lunch at a local restaurant last Sunday when a shouting match broke out between two other customers. The order line was long and had wrapped around into the dining room. The man who started the ordeal was sitting at a table beside the line. He apparently said something about an eight-year-old boy who had gotten too close for comfort while waiting to order. The boy’s mother was offended. A loud and vulgar exchange of words pursued. The mother and her family were dressed in their “Sunday best.”
After the manager of the restaurant spoke her to about her language, she stepped outside for a smoke and a chance to cool down. I was reading the faces of the people around me and it was clear that no one was impressed by her attitude of defiance. In her anger, she had made fools of her entire family. I was also convinced that Kristie and I were not the only ones to notice her church clothes.
Too many believers have forgotten their position as “cities on a hill,” not realizing their public witness is a constant factor. This lady allowed her anger to overcome her to the point of sin, and publicly shamed the name of Christ. She allowed the devil an opportunity to hurt Christ’s image in the midst of unbelievers.
On our way to the car I took the opportunity to stop and ask her if she had been to church that morning. “Yes,” she answered, while lighting another cigarette. “But I done lost my Holy Ghost up in there.”