I’m mad at bunch of people.
The guy who robbed a family member.
The roofer who ripped off my son.
The guy who threatened my granddaughter.
The girl who bullied my granddaughter.
All of those who use handicapped parking but have no meaningful handicap.
The road rage guy who yelled at my wife.
The guy who charged me $1500 for 15 minutes of shabby work on my chimney.
And many more…….
My list is long; but, I know people who have lists much longer than mine.
Consider the people on my list…..and on yours. The things that they have done are deplorable…..no question about it.
In our society, we are constantly told to hate the people whom we are mad at. Every day, on our phones, on our computers, and on our TVs, somebody is demonizing their “enemy du jour”. Just like in junior high school……… they are trying to recruit you and me to hate the person that they hate. I see people who are otherwise very nice people…….friends of mine……doing this just about every day on Facebook.
But, here’s the problem.
God loves them all. Yes…..he even loves the guy parked in the handicapped spot……..whose only handicap is that he is lazy.
Even worse……..he loves those on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Hold your nose……..God loves Donald Trump……….God loves Nancy Pelosi.
So…….how do we handle our anger…..how do I handle my anger? I think that we need to try something that goes against our more base instincts.
Don’t hate someone because a politician or “talking head” told you to. They are trying to manipulate you to accomplish their goals. We should have left this behavior behind in junior high school.
Learn how to disagree without demonizing the other guy. Believe it or not he pretty much wants the same things that you do. When someone tries to recruit you into their hate……just turn away.
Remember that the only thing that you can control is what you say and do. People will hurt you. They will do bad things. Politicians will do things that you don’t like. This is never going to change, whether you wade into the mud slinging or not. Let it go and move on. When the other guy does something bad…… do something good. Go high when they go low.
If you do these things you will be in harmony with one of the two great rules of Christianity ………love your neighbor. This is the road to inner peace. Even more importantly, it is the only path to lasting joy.
This bears repeating.
LOVING OTHERS IS THE ONLY PATH TO LASTING JOY.
You can do this. You can love the other guy……..even if he hurts you……..even if she disagrees with you over something very important………abortion, gun control, the wall, the president, congress, you name it. This will drive the politicians and “talking heads” crazy.
And it will put a smile on God’s face.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Paul, NIV