LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND. Pts. 1-3

“Be angry, but sin not.” Ephesians 4:26

We live in a world full of angry people. (Yeah, we do).

Several years ago, I was watching one of those 20/20 type programs, and a segment came on regarding a child predator. It so happened that he was being extradited to another state, and as he and a deputy step off a chartered airplane, an airport camera shows the duo walking across the tarmac.

And now, as they enter the terminal another camera records them walking down a hallway. Finally, a third camera picks up the action. We see a man speaking on a payphone, and as the deputy and the child molester approach him, the fella on the phone drops it, turns towards

the two, pulls out a revolver, and fires a bullet into the brain of the prisoner.

Who was this man who took justice into his own hands? None other than the father of the little girl.

As you can imagine, this loving, caring father who, sadly, was so overcome with rage and retribution exchanged places with the perpetrator, and was taken into custody by this same deputy.

A few minutes ago, Queenie and I set an azimuth towards her favorite neighborhood dog path where she could make her “deposit,” when a standard yellow school bus rounded a nearby curve. As it was negotiating the curve facing north, a pickup truck happened to be rounding the curve in a southerly fashion. Due to the wide swing the bus made, so as not to “straighten out” the curve, the driver almost side-swiped the pickup truck. There upon, the driver of the truck “laid on” his horn.

Of course, given the circumstances anyone of us could easily justify his decision to do so. However, as if that weren’t enough, the man brought the truck to a halt, put his vehicle in reverse, and “put the pedal to the metal” in an obvious quest to catch up with the school bus, and give the driver “what for.”

Pt. 2

And it immediately occurred to me that the truck driver’s subsequent recourse set some dynamics into action which could have had some very unforeseen results. Who can say whether the fellow was a “card carrying, (gun carrying) NRA member? Who can tell whether he might have attempted to stop and board the bus? Who can know the ultimate outcome of a verbal or physical altercation between the two drivers?

I often tell my clients, interns, family, friends and acquaintances that the only thing that makes me angry is tail gaters. (Yeah, they do)!

A few years ago, I was driving on a major boulevard in a nearby city when someone behind me did exactly that. The guy was right on my back bumper, and I raised my right hand, and gave him a non-verbal, (not a one fingered salute, but a backwards wave) as if to say, “Please get your nasty butt self off my bumper.” Unfortunately, Mr. Rudeness Incarnate continued to do what he continued to do. As a result, I made a somewhat regrettable decision, (at least for him) to tap my brakes.

However, (when someone says or writes, “However” you know something “strange and wonderful” is about to happen). However, having rendered swift justice to the nasty butt driver, he momentarily lost control of his automobile, and ran off the road. And while there was some sort of non-descript business within just feet of the road, he managed to bring his unguided missile to a stop; without plowing into building, people or merchandise.

Funny, how anger can so easily metamorphose into laughter. (‘Cause I can tell you, it did).

However, (there’s that word again) in retrospect, I think I learned a valuable lesson that day. And that is: Attempting to teach someone else a lesson could have fatal ramifications. It’s possible to be both right and dead, or find one’s self responsible for the death of another person.

Pt. 3

While the only thing that makes me angry are nasty butt tail gaters, I am happy to report that I have adopted a new coarse of action. Henceforth, and forevermore I will do the backwards wave thing, and should this rather innocuous action fail, I am committed to pulling over on the shoulder of the road, and allowing the troubled soul to go about his or her business.

As a counselor I have “worked” a variety of issues, including anger, bitterness and unforgiveness which can result in unresolved emotional and physical symptoms, and contention in the sphere of relationships. And while there are plenty of reasons people exhibit such symptoms, we may be prone to make excuses, or to simply excuse ourselves for negative mindsets and behavior patterns.

I speak about the “ghosts of the past.” The events and resulting memories of the past, though past tense and invisible to the naked eye, can be more real and more tangible than the symptoms themselves. Those past tense circumstances which bring us down, and which we blame for our actions are more “there there” than anything which springs out of them.

As believers we are encouraged to “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:5) and to allow the Holy Spirit to do His best work in us; so that we might “leave the past behind and turn to all that God has planned for us.” (Philippians 3:13)

Sometimes God uses people. Sometimes, as I have discovered, He uses counselors. If you are experiencing anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, relational issues, etc. you may benefit from the assistance of a pastoral counselor, or licensed therapist in your community.

By William McDonald, PhD. From (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 77. Copyright pending

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