Post with 1 note
Be Angry…
I’m a relatively calm guy. And there aren’t many things that get under my skin…
Saturday night I was at Epcot feeling like a kid again.
We stopped in Mexico to grab a bite to eat and as we were standing in line, a guy dressed as a referee and a mullet wig (I’m guessing for halloween) began taunting my friends and I. If you can believe it, he was taunting us because we were wearing cut-off jeans and deep-V t-shirts.
He yelled out too us and we yelled back. It was funny at first, because he was a little drunk. But for some reason, as things progressed I became more and more heated. He was just angry at life it seemed, but I was angry because he was insulting who I was and the friends around me. Then he made a ridiculous comment about one of the girls that with us, which I won’t repeat on here. It sent me over the edge. I remember thinking to myself, “I wish this guy would take a swing at me, so I can have an excuse to swing back.”
He yelled, “Alright, I guess I’m gonna have to come over there and finish this!”
“Come on over!” were the first words to pop into my head, and I let them fly.
Who did I think I was?! This guys was way bigger than me! But anger overtook my judgement… He was all talk, and nothing progressed beyond words and threats.
Over the last few days, as I began thinking about that night, I began to realize that, while I was puffing myself up through words and being the typical “guy” displaying my strength, that really, I couldn’t have been more weak.
I had an opportunity to respond in love. I had the opportunity to respond like Jesus (and not even the turning-the-other-cheek kind, thankfully). But I didn’t. I responded out of anger.
True strength is having the ability to control myself. That, even though culture and modern romanticism tells us to respond in a violent manner - “protecting” the women in our lives - true strength would not have responded that way. Jesus would not have responded that way.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
-
alycegilligan liked this
-
lanceherring posted this
