Avoid Rotten Fruit - The Warrior's Journey®

Avoid Rotten Fruit

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Scripture: Ephesians 4:25–32

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

Have you ever taken a bite of rotten fruit? I love green grapes, but occasionally I eat one that has been bruised and is rotting. Immediately I spit it out! Unbridled anger should be treated like rotten fruit. We should get rid of it immediately. This kind of anger can destroy us as well as our relationships, which can get bruised and start to rot. Before you know it, our relationship go sour and are no longer any good.

So, what in your life makes you angry? Anger in and of itself is not necessarily wrong. But anger can sinfully sour, very quickly, if we don’t understand that anger rooted selfish reasons and anger resulting from selfless love are two different things completely. It’s always a good thing to ask “why am I angry?” One of the best ways to check your anger is to fill yourself up with good fruit—what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23a). This good fruit gives you strength and focus to deal with everything, every day.

Unchecked anger can be a gateway to sin, as mentioned in today’s Scripture. So fill yourself with good spiritual fruit every day and stay away from rotten fruit.

Consider

What makes you angry? How do you currently deal with anger? Have you seen anger rot a relationship?

Practice

Write down the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit on separate 3×5 cards or sticky notes. As you start out each day, put one of the cards on your bathroom mirror and ask god to help you be filled with that aspect of the fruit all day long. At night before you go to bed, take that card and ask God to help you deal with your anger toward anyone or any issue, so you may sleep in peace. Do this with all nine cards. If needed, keep doing this in nine-day cycles and see how God will transform your life!

Chat

God, help me to be more like you in dealing with any anger I might have toward anyone or anything, so I may bring honor to your name. Please fill me every day with your fruit of the Spirit.


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