You IDIOT!!

You have heard that our forefathers were told,

“Do not commit murder: anyone who commits murder must 

be brought to justice.''  But what I tell you is this:

Anyone who nurses anger against his brother must be brought to justice.  Whoever calls his brother “good for nothing!”  deserves the sentence of the court; whoever calls him “fool” deserves hellfire.

Matthew 5:21-22

What kind of a driver are you?  Slow?  Fast?  Aggressive?  Relaxed?  Do you feel like you are always late and drive accordingly, or are you a “Sunday driver”?  Is a portion of your identity tied up in what you drive and how you drive it?  Do the hormones flow every time you get behind the wheel and press the gas?  Do you drive defensively, or does everyone else need to drive defensively around you?

My father was a race car driver, and my first driving teacher.  He drove fast and very aggressive, and that is what he taught me.  Some of his “lessons” I refused to learn: driving on the right shoulder in a traffic jam, or squeezing down the lane divider line while there are cars in both adjacent lanes.  As my children were growing up, I had no idea that they were fairly “white knuckle” in their little car seats because of my speedy maneuvering.

Worse than my actual driving, however, is the barrage of words aimed at my fellow sojourners on the road (always about them, never directly to them).  If I had a dime for every time I have yelled “Idiot!” about some hapless road warrior, I would be a very rich woman indeed.  As I have gotten older, my driving has greatly mellowed, but my attitude toward the other drivers?  Not so much. Just yesterday, a gentleman stopped several feet short of the entrance into the Correct Change Only toll booth while he searched his car and pockets for the correct coins.  When he couldn’t come up with it, he began to back up, straight into oncoming traffic, so he could change lanes.  I distinctly remember thinking, “What an IDIOT!!”

Contempt for another human being is at the very heart of the act of taking their life, and doesn't quite square with "...love your neighbor as yourself."   I have never committed the act of physical murder; but according to Jesus, I have done it endless times in my mind and heart.  Any time we disparage another individual, putting them down or wishing them ill will, we have written them off in our hearts.  That is a very sobering thought – one I need to keep in mind the next time I get behind the wheel.