Our Daily Bread: We Are FamilyChikamu

Family and Forgiveness

“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. -Ephesians 4:26–27 NIV

I remember a time when my wife Lorena and I discussed something, and I was offended by what she said. For days I let anger and resentment settle in my heart, and I began to feel sadness and pain.

Thankfully, God showed me through today’s Scripture passage that my behavior was making a way for the devil to enter into my family.

No entity is more sensitive, vulnerable, and damaged than the family. Why? Because it’s our center. In our families, ideally, we will have no masks and no filters.

Home with family is supposed to be the place we are most comfortable and the most natural. And this may also be why family is where we have more conflict and crises.

I believe that the family environment is where the root of everything we experience as a society is found.

So what can help us create and sustain healthy families? Ephesians 4:26–27 highlights the importance of not letting an offense last a long time in a relationship. In a family, there will undoubtedly be offenses.

But instead of avoiding the discussions and friction that commonly occur, consider applying 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.”

These verses are clear: anger isn’t the problem; the problem is allowing anger to control the situation.

When anger lingers, it controls us and opens a path for the enemy to enter and influence our thinking.

I encourage you to forgive and forgive quickly; to ask for forgiveness now rather than later. This can block the enemy’s entrance and keep our families healthy.

Coalo & Lorena Zamorano

Who must you still forgive to heal a wound? What can you do to keep anger from controlling you?

Dear God, help me today to forgive and thus bring freedom and peace to my home. May Your light shine in my family.