Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31–32

Change. We all want it. We want to see our angry patterns changed into godly patterns. 

How does change occur in a Christian? One vital biblical strategy is the put-off/put-on principle. God calls us to put off sin and put on righteousness—to get rid of ungodly behavior and replace it with godly alternatives. In today’s passage, Paul applies this principle directly to anger. 

What strikes us at once is the sheer number of terms that Paul uses in this passage. He ransacks his mental thesaurus and expresses six varieties of anger. That’s not to say this is an exhaustive or scientific list, but it reminds us that anger comes in assorted shapes and sizes and involves our thoughts, words, and actions.

The fact that Paul addresses Christians should encourage us. Jesus and his apostles repeatedly addressed anger because they knew that this sin exists even among sincere followers of Jesus. The presence of remaining sin should not cause us to doubt; it should cause us to double down on our efforts to deal with it so that we will please the Savior who purchased us. 

What should we do about our anger? Paul states it plainly: get rid of it! Whatever the shade or degree of anger—Paul piles on these terms in order to invoke the depth and breadth of all possible anger—put off all of it. Kill all manifestations of it completely.

What should replace our anger? Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Let’s plant deeply into our souls this put-off/put-on principle. It’s not enough for us to stop being bitter, rageful, and so on. We must concurrently be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. God designed these relational graces to function together. 

How can you put off your anger and put on Christlikeness? Begin by praying for whomever you are angry with, dropping any steps of revenge you were contemplating taking, and doing something good for that person instead. 

Why? Note how our passage ends: because God in Christ has forgiven you. God’s forgiveness—his decision, declaration, and promise not to hold your sins against you because of Jesus—is our chief biblical motive for forgiving others. The argument is irrefutable, the logic airtight: how can you remain bitter, or slander someone, when almighty God—who had a just reason to pour out his wrath on your sins—fully forgave you?

—Robert D. Jones, author, Anger: A 31-Day Devotional for Life