Merging

She wouldn't let me merge. The lady in the minivan.

I thought she had just a few seconds ago. I was in the right lane that ended and everyone on the left was letting others in. I assumed I was next and started to merge over. All was well until she shot up beside me and made it clear she wasn't going to let me in. No way. No how. She had it out for me.

And now, I was mad. What did I do to her? Why was she being such a jerk?

Sad thing was, I sort of felt like I'd been sucker punched by a total stranger. You've been there too, I'm sure. Someone takes the parking spot you'd been waiting on. The cashier gives you attitude when all you're trying to be is nice. A saga with Customer Service. You get the idea.

And those instances with strangers come and go, darken our day a bit and then we move on. But it got me to thinking, "Who was the last person I sucker punched?" A friend? Someone in my family? A customer service rep in India?

Sadly, we all do it. Not a physical cheap shot, but through words. Through actions. Most often to the people we love the most. I get tired. I get cranky. I get to a point where I don't want to be around people for an hour or so. And when I've had enough, I sometimes sucker punch the very people I claim to love the most. I do it through a smarmy remark or a biting comment. That's me. I'm sure you have your own style.

What do you say we both agree to work to get rid of that, ok? Because it hurts.

In The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), we're told of a master who had mercy on a debt of a servant, but that servant had no mercy on someone who owed him. And the master was not happy about this double standard. Jesus ends the parable saying, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Let me throw this at you, Newton's Law of Motion says, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." I'm not sure if Newton was a Christian, but when it comes to how we fall and fail, this sounds a lot like Christ's love to me. We mess up, he cleans us up. We have words of anger, he soothes us with words of forgiveness. Newton's law from a Christian perspective. Not bad for a Tuesday.

So back to my minivan lady, the next stoplight turned green and she was too busy messing with her radio or something in her purse and didn't notice it. Tick. Tick. Tick. Light's still green and she's not paying attention. That's when I reached back and I was ready to retaliate via my truck horn. And man, I was going to let it wail. Cut me off. Treat me bad. Give me attitude. Now who's in charge, lady?

And then I saw it. The cross ring I wear on my thumb. The one that reminds me who's really in charge. The one that puts me in my place. Trust me, I wanted for all the world to give her just a teenie, weenie "courtesy" honk, but I couldn't. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" in Christ in all. In other words, "give her a free pass".

A few blocks later she turned off and I prayed for her. For her day. For her "issues", and I meant it. And it felt right.

So, my prayer for you this week is that you don't let cheap anger lead the way to a biting comment or something that drives a wedge into a relationship. Because that's not Christ. At all. Do the opposite. Take the cheap shot, pray about it. Talk to the person if you can and see what's really going on. Love them as Christ loves you. Sure it can be tough and rocky waters to navigate, but that's why I wear a thumb ring- just to let me know who's really in charge.