Good morning. The other day I had been to Rochester for a meeting, which meant that I was coming back into Albert Lea from Interstate 35. As I neared the intersection that goes left towards Walmart or to the right to Clarks Grove, I had the green light and was traveling about 55 mph. When I was very near to the intersection a fellow in a pickup truck decided to pull out in front of me. This caused me to slam on my brakes, which caused a variety of things in the passenger seat to slide onto the floor, and caused my heart to skip a beat as I was quite sure I was going to run into the backend of said pickup truck. I didn’t hit him. However, I must confess that more than a few unkind thoughts entered my head regarding my fellow driver.
Remembering that event, I was a bit taken aback when in the following morning’s prayer and Bible reading time I came to Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Ouch! My first thought was to consider that the idiot…I am sorry Lord, what I meant to say was that other person who was driving the pickup truck and who is probably a fine human being…isn’t necessarily to be considered “my brother.” But wait a minute, then the parable of the Good Samaritan comes to mind, and with it the definition of “who is my brother,” and I can’t say that either.
The context of Jesus’ statement is this: You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. Matthew 5:21 Sure, we can all agree that we shouldn’t be murdering anyone. And I can say with absolute certainty that while I was temporarily very upset with the…uhm…wonderful fellow driving the pickup truck, it never entered my mind that I should murder him. Does that take me off the hook? No.
What Jesus is teaching us (me) is very clear, the feelings of your heart matter. When you think ill of others, when you have anger in your heart over what some other person is doing or has done to you, your spirit should be one of understanding, compassion, and forgiveness rather than one of anger and foul thoughts. Those angry thoughts are a poison to our spirit and Jesus tells us not to allow such poison to enter in.
But who can do this? Who is so generous of mind, heart, and spirit that they don’t allow anger to foul their thoughts when another person has acted inappropriately towards us?
The answer is clear, and it is simple, and it is obvious. The answer is Jesus. Consider the heart of Jesus when they tortured Him, when they spit at Him, when they teased and tormented Him after they had hung Him on the cross. He said, “Father forgive them, for they do not understand what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
To that I would readily reply, “Yeah, well clearly I am not Jesus!” That is all too true. But then I remember what is commanded in Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
As we are being “transformed,” whose likeness are we to be ever and increasingly transformed into? The likeness of Jesus, of course. In as much as Jesus would not shout out “You fool!” to the guy driving the pickup truck, neither should I. As a maturing Christian, and no, I am not altogether there as a complete and mature Christian person yet, I should be reacting more and more as would my Lord Jesus.
Certainly, we should remember the command of Ephesians 4:25-27 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
He goes on in verse 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Oh, to be more like Jesus, even when the other drivers are acting like….people who God loves in spite of their awkward driving habits. 😊
Vern