Rage Against the ______?

 I was driving in from Mead this morning along an unusually quiet Division and thinking that it was shaping up to be a “good” day. Thirty seconds later I was thinking an agitated “C’mon!” at a driver in front of me. Okay, so maybe it was actually a spoken, uh, encouragement.

In any case, I immediately thought of our spiritual exercise for the week. You remember it, don’t you. “Taming the tongue.” Obviously, today was my day for offering “encouragement” to someone and NOT the not saying anything negative day.

Interestingly, the thing that grabbed me was: "What happened in that 30 seconds that took me from a contented expectation of good things to an exasperated frustration?" Which is a question that I think many of us don’t ask enough: Why am I reacting to this situation in this way?  Why am I angry in this moment? What button does this situation push that is making me feel this way? Is what I’m feeling in this situation actually triggered by some other underlying thing that is troubling me?

It feels to me like the world is an angrier place these days. And definitely more impatient. The frustrations built up over these COVID years color almost every interaction, even driving down Main Street. Some have suggested that we are in a constant state of “fight or flight” thanks to all the emotions, accusations, and assumptions that are flying in the air around us. Just leaving the house will often ramp up our anxieties.

Our introduction to spiritual practices over the past weeks (and for a few more) are designed to help us look beyond all that. They compel us to look beyond our frustrations and expectations of the world to see the needs of our neighbor and the desires of our Lord. 

There are a lot of things what could complete the title sentence above. What should NOT go in the blank includes: our neighbor, the cashier at the store, the server at the restaurant, or…umm…the driver in the car in front of us. In other words, at our most introspective (see questions above), we should be asking what we are truly frustrated by before we lash out at a person…one who no doubt is dealing with all the same types of frustrations we are. 

Frustrated that what you want or need to buy is not on the shelf? Understandable. Taking it out on a store employee? Not Christlike. Imagine for a minute how many times that person has had to take the brunt of someone’s frustration. Don’t add to it.

Still grieving over losses attributed to COVID restrictions? Grieving any loss can take time…and often involves emotions like anger or guilt. Recognize that your grief is the source of your emotion and don’t transfer it into an interaction with someone else.

Emotions are powerful things and a gift from God to help us understand and express ourselves. Sometimes spiritual exercises and personal introspection help us use these gifts most appropriately. 

After all, sometimes it is appropriate to rage against something. “Rage Against the Machine” is a rock band noted for their revolutionary political views. Many over the decades have raged against “The Man,” another way of denoting a protest or movement against a purportedly oppressive system. It’s okay to be angry. Anger generates energy to get things done. (If you’ve ever seen my desk cleaned off and organized, well…) There’s even a Christ-like way to direct energy that is driven by anger.

Direct it toward the things that Jesus would want. Rage against authoritarianism. Rage against racism. Rage against any system that promotes the idea that one kind of person is better than any other kind of person.

You can do this on a large scale, i.e. promoting and supporting political candidates who seem to be acting Christ-like in their own way. You can also do this on a smaller scale. Several people who are residents of an HOA, the leadership of which had apparently stopped listening to the residents, organized and made themselves heard and effected change. Let your anger and frustration move you to act for the sake of justice and reconciliation. (If you don’t have any anger or frustration, you can still act for justice!)

Don’t just rage. Figure out what is fueling it. If it’s a reconciliation that’s needed, reconcile it. If it’s an injustice that needs challenging, challenge it. If it’s a frustration that life is more difficult than it used to be, accept that…I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. 

More than one person has said that a great way to get out of yourself and out of your own emotional turmoil, is to serve others. In the end that’s what we are called to do, serve others for Jesus' sake and to fight for what they need. That is, I would guess, what Jesus would do with his anger. Rage against the injustice. Rage against the oppression. Rage against anything that lessened the God-given worth and value of every human being on the planet. Just…rage Christ-like. 

Which probably doesn’t include yelling “C’mon!” at the driver in front of you and spending the next 5 miles ruminating about it. Of course, that led to “Huh, I wonder if this would make a good blog article?” Still not sure on that one…