Proverbs 29:22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
As we walk along the road of our life’s journey in Christ, we will most likely encounter a bit of road rage. Yes, dear Christians, not only will the callous and lost of the world be in our faces because we have chosen Christ’s righteousness as the standard for our lives, but other Christians will come along and run us off the road and then blame us for the mess. They will point out with judgmental outrage how we caused them to run us off the road, and with grace, we will say, “Please forgive me.” Matt. 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. As much as we would like to say, “Please forgive me for causing you to run me off the road because of your road rage,” we don’t say it, because we are the Christian adult in the room.
During our life’s walk, we will be lied to. Whether the lie is deliberate or through a misunderstanding, it will happen. Whether the lies occur to derail us, control us, or destroy us, the lies will come. 1Kings 13:18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. This may cause a bit of road rage when we bring up the injustice of it all to the Lord in prayer. However, we will need to turn the other cheek and let the Lord judge the situation through His all-knowing love. Not an easy road but it is the one we are on.
While learning to walk the road of God’s peace and love we may become the victims of unforeseen events. We might find ourselves in the crossfire of someone else’s road rage who is tearing down anyone and everything that is within their reach. Luke 10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Life happens while we walk the road of life, and sometimes we get hit with the shrapnel flying around from other people’s actions and reactions to their hurts. We can become bitter at this stage of our Christian walk and begin cruising recklessly while pushing and shoving our way to church. However, we need to be aware that we can become the angry man in the room and must change the attitude that is building up. Prov. 29:22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
We do need wisdom in understanding the difference between self-righteous offendedness and righteous anger. Eph. 4:26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Righteous anger is to hate the sin but not the sinner. This is why the Lord asks us to take His yoke and walk with Him so that we learn how to tell the difference. Sin and sinning will bring death, but Jesus gives us life and the power to overcome sin. We are born again unto righteousness and that is the road we walk. Matt. 7:13 You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.
Lately, while walking on my eternal road through life, I have had to deal with a bit of road rage in my Christian walk. suffice to say, the road has not been smoothly paved and I have been tripping over a few rough spots. I noticed I have felt like running some other travellers over who are apparently trying to help me find redemption with their own brand and ideas of what redemption and righteousness in Christ is. I have had to stand back and think before I speak. What a concept that is and a skill we need to learn. Prov. 17:28 Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. Yes, even a fool can appear intelligent if he keeps his mouth shut. I almost became a fool by spewing out what I really thought, but then said, “There has to be an adult in the room.” So I chose to be an adult.
Everyone goes through stages of doubt and hard times, and there is grace for that when we bring it to the Lord in prayer. Keeping our hearts clean and forthright before God, is what the Lord expects out of us. Again, we need to yoke our lives to the Lord and learn how to pull with Christ so that we do not become bruised and chafed by the yoke because we are pulling in a different direction than the Lord is heading toward. We need to remember that we are walking right besides the Lord and making sure we are step in step with Him. Christ leads us, and we follow. What can the world do to make us stumble if we are one in Christ? Rom. 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Let us all enjoy the journey we are on and may the Holy Spirit be our guide on our road of redemption. Amen!
So much to ponder here. I appreciate your honesty and wisdom. Thank you.