43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. – Matthew 5:43-45
In the last few weeks, I have been given the middle finger at least twice. I wish these were the only times I have been met with such a salute, but they are not. Throughout my life, something about the way I live my life, or more concisely the way I drive, has elicited such a grandiose response. Depending on the day that such an event occurs, my response could range anywhere from laughter to rage; it simply relies on the day. On the most recent occasion, I had a desire to follow this surly gentleman and honestly talk it out. There is a buried optimism within me that believes we could talk it through and become friends. The truth of the matter is however, this would only produce more rage and perhaps end in a forced community service and a nice orange jumpsuit.
And so here is the deep spiritual principle I wish to share: sometimes (many times), people suck.
If there is any comfort in this, it is found in the fact that many times when “enemies” lash out or disappoint you, you have nothing to do with it. We often react from the events in our lives that are unfavorable. It is the “bad” days that fuel such expressions. From middle fingers to thinly veiled Facebook posts, these are created in the heart of the broken and the bitter. They were there way before you even entered the picture.
When this man acted out toward me in traffic, he was not necessarily directing it toward me. Perhaps it was directed toward the fight he had minutes earlier with his wife or he was raging against his mediocre career. Maybe he felt helpless. Maybe he is scared of the future. Maybe he received a bad hand in this life and the only control he has is found behind the wheel of his rustic Jeep Patriot. Maybe the most humbling of lesson in all of this is the realization that we are all behind that wheel, all capable of the ugliness of sin. More than we wish to admit, this side of heaven proves us to be marred, broken, and angry wretches in daily need of exceptional grace. Like with them, your frustration is not about the way they drive, act, or talk, but it goes deeper to your all too human heart.
Lord forgive us
Lord heal us
Matt simon blog 