3 a.m. and the police are at the door!

That's never a good way to wake up. My thoughts immediately start to race. Did something happen to our college son? Did someone break into the cars? Did something happen to a neighbor?

No. We back up to an apartment complex and a gal had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend. He threw her Prius keys over the fence into our backyard. In the middle of the night. Now the policeman wants to search our backyard. In the rain. He is apologetic. I feel sorry for HIM having to wake us and search around in the dark and the rain.

My mind wanders as I lie in bed and can't fall back to sleep. Ephesians 4:26 comes to mind: In your anger do not sin. I like what Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says about this verse:


If there is just occasion to express displeasure at what is wrong, and to reprove, see that it be without sin. We give place to the devil, when the first motions of sin are not grievous to our souls; when we consent to them; and when we repeat an evil deed. This teaches that as sin, if yielded unto, lets in the devil upon us, we are to resist it, keeping from all appearance of evil.


I'm sure that the man had a reason for his anger. He should be allowed to express those feelings to his girlfriend. However, his anger led him to actions he should not have effected. I'm not saying that throwing keys over a fence is a sin. But "consenting to the anger and repeating the evil deed" is. 

In case you were wondering, the policeman did not find the keys. I could NOT fall back to sleep until almost morning. Then I missed my run date with my running partner. We looked again for the keys this morning. Still nothing. 

A seemingly harmless act will now have expensive repercussions. Replacing keys can be costly! The takeaway? Think through your actions when you are angry to be sure you don't regret them later! 

Now, I'm off to make a second cup of coffee. I'm gonna need it today!