Friday, June 24, 2016

Getting mad about it

When I was something that passed for being an athlete, we had one guy, just one guy, on our rival opponent that drove me wild. He I, uh, well, hated though I did not know him. Again hated, did not know. Never met. Didn't greet. To my memory have never spoken a word to him.

But when he was pitching, he was infuriating. Don't know why. Again, never met him.

Today, as I will Sunday from the pulpit, want to explore anger. We, in this country today, are an angry bunch. Many are saying the anger of one sect -- in this case caucasian men and to a small amount caucasian women -- is fueling the candidacy of Donald Trump. 

What are they mad about. Ask them. They might not even know. But I believe it all boils down to them (er, us) feeling an injustice has been done to them (er, us). 

What injustice? I'm sorry to say the problem is caucasian men who are not Democrats believe their rights are being trampled. What right? The right to own guns (Lord, help us all), the right to run things because we always have and we did it right gosh darn it, the right to be in the majority, the right to intentionally or unintentionally keep minorities of all kinds out of leadership roles that we've designed ourselves to be run by ourselves, and the right to allow Christians to run things because we always have and we are good people gosh darn it.

Never mind the injustice that has been done to very small minority groups in the name of whatever the opposite of keeping things the way they have always been.

Without question, this country is different than it was even 20 years ago when Bill Clinton took office. Whether better or worse I'll let others decide, but clearly it is different.

For those who were in control but have not been for at least the eight years of the Obama administration, that's enough to produce a slow boil.

What makes you mad, folks, is normally when you see injustice being done to someone. Most of the time that someone is you. Notice that being mad is used for anger and for being nutty as a Christmas fruitcake.

Let me ask it this way: Have you ever been stuck in traffic and you see a vehicle come roaring past you on the right of way. Just blowing past you. I'm mad, thus, has dual meaning.

Have you ever been in a long line of traffic because you have to merge and you see a vehicle come roaring past you and you see it force its way into traffic?

Have you ever been in a long line of people at a movie theater and just as you get to the front of the line, the guy two people ahead of you lets six people into line?

Have you had people take credit for work you did?
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do?
Have you ever had the people in front or the people in back of you at a movie theater talk the whole film?

Have you ever gone through the self checkout line only to discover that about ever third item it freezes and you have to get someone to help. Or do the words unexpected item in bagging area drive you up the wall?

We are an angry bunch, controlled by our feelings, and sometimes they are the trigger to the atom bomb ticking in our minds and emotions.

Here's some quick solutions. When you feel the anger about to burst out of you like that dang alien out of the man's stomach in Alien, slow everything down. Take it ssssssllllllooooowwwww. 

Find your Bible, and do a word search on anger. The Bible has lots to say about anger. Even God gets mad, apparently.

Finally, wait on the Lord. Just stop what you're doing and focus on Him. Focus on heaven. Focus on anything spiritual that isn't what your anger is about.

Slow. Locate. Wait.

It's better than counting to 10. Now if I could just open the passenger door as than maniac roars by me on the right of way.

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