Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

The Amplified Version amplifies clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding]. That helps to clarify clamour and its varied spellings. To be totally honest with you all, I need help understanding even my one behavior. Righteous indignation is still indignation.

Let me be as clear on this as humanly possible, knowing the truth does not always tell us what to do with it. Emotions, especially strong emotions, can direct acts that are not always the best course of action given that agape love is perfect love and we are not yet perfect. Strong emotions will often forget to check our actions and reactions against how love acts.

Paul’s caution to the Ephesians here in 4:31 says to put the negative emotions away with malice. Malice is set apart from the other strong emotions as if malice is somehow different.

Malice in the Greek is kakia which is defined as doing evil. I would have preferred the ESV had added the word “along” after that last comma. It would have clarified there is a difference between having these negative emotions and acting on them.

We can judge ourselves too harshly for how we feel at times and Paul addresses them because they are common. There is no need to feel guilty about it as long as those emotions do not lead to ungodly acts. Evil is a strong word and we know who the Evil One is and we do not answer to him. We answer to a loving God.

These times are full of strong emotions. Righteous indignation is prevalent in many of the things that are being said. Some of it has led to civil unrest and violence. That is not God’s Way.

There is very little that can be done to calm all the negative emotions of others. We can only see to it that they do not lead us to react irrationally ourselves. Perhaps the best way to do that is to once again review the love chapter and see how God’s perfect love acts.

Maybe that will help us put away all that negativity.

Maybe we need to pray about it.

John 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Matthew 18:19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

How do we reconcile these comments? They are all true but seem to contradict each other in some way. Since they are true then our understanding of context is incomplete.

The context within John 14:14 is if we are to ask in Jesus name, we are speaking for Jesus who only did His Father’s will. John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The truth of any scripture will have supporting evidence.

The second, Matthew 18:19 is made in consideration of righteous judgment when one brother sins against the other in the church and the two cannot reconcile on their own. The two in agreement must agree with the Holy Spirit who reveals truth concerning all spiritual matters. The supporting context is 1 Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Since these two are true then James 4:3 stands alone without need for further context since the will of the Father and guidance of the Holy Spirit were not considered and only our selfish desires are addressed.

Rather than inflict any judgment upon these things we all ask for, let us consider that we can only ask of the Father when we are in communion with the Father. So much we think and do in this world is done alone when we are not in communion with the Father.

We look to that ministry that Jesus performed healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead and tend to forget all those miracles were done to show the people of the time that He was the Messiah. Then when Jesus tells them they shall do greater things it is confusing as to what could be greater than those miracles?

It was not until after His death, resurrection and ascension that the seed of the gospel had the power to deliver lost souls to the will of the Father.

We have no greater ask than the seed we sow should find ground that is prepared to receive it and bear fruit unto salvation.

This does not stop us from caring about the suffering of others and asking for relief apart from the will of God or the leading of the Holy Spirit. That is because we love and love is the greatest gift.