Tanong, back topic on the road rage issues. I myself, is admittedly, the one with a short fuse, when it comes to road courtesy. It's okay to be angry "righteously", then what would the bible suggest we do with the "righteous" anger we feel when we are wronged in our daily lives, more specifically, on the road?
You are not a bible novice, since you already know that not all forms of anger are prohibited. You are aware that there is such a thing as "righteous anger," which is allowed.
However, even if you know that righteous anger is allowed, your next problem is how to tell when anger can or cannot be considered "righteous." Don't ask the angry guy. He will insist that his anger is always righteous.
Since Jesus committed no sin, we can get correct examples of righteous anger by studying the instances when Jesus was angry. In the bible, there are three instances where Jesus was angry:
- First is the most popular instance, where Jesus drove out the merchants from the temple, because they made His Father's house into "a den of thieves."
- Second is the story about the healing of a man's withered hand, where Jesus became angry because of the hardness of the hearts of the people at the synagogue.
- Third is the instance where Jesus was "much displeased" when His disciples did not allow the little children to approach Him.
You will notice the Jesus' anger was not for His own material benefit, but was spiritual in nature and for the benefit of the Father.
Obviously, traffic annoyances are not something that can qualify as an anger that is selfless and for a spiritual purpose. I don't think that can be considered "righteous anger" by any stretch of the imagination.
You know the anger management technique of counting to 10? It really works. There's a jerk who cut into your lane. Count to 10 first, then be thankful that no serious accident happened, and your anger will quickly mellow.
What's the bible's advice? Basically the same thing. It says, "Be slow to become angry":
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20) Do the saying when someone slaps you're left cheek, you offer the other side?
Not the left cheek.
That's a deceptively simple bible verse, yet very commonly misunderstood.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Mt. 5:38-39)Notice that it says "right cheek," not "left cheek."
Right and left are very significant in the bible. The right is good; the left is bad. The right hand does the work; the left hand does not.
In those days, a slap on the face was an extreme insult. Those from the higher ranks of society insult the lower classes by slapping them on the face with the back of the hand. Why backhanded? Because the one delivering the slap doesn't want his palm to touch any part of the body of a lower-class person. Therefore, a backhanded slap is even more insulting than an ordinary slap with the palm.
When two persons are facing each other, and the slapper uses the back of his right hand to strike the other on the cheek, the victim gets hit on his right cheek. And that's the significance of getting a slap on the right cheek --- it means you were given a backhanded slap, which is extremely insulting.
Therefore, it's not really about the physical slap on the face. It's just a poetic way of talking about somebody who receives great insult and humiliation.
Why offer the other cheek? Because by offering the other cheek, the offender will find it difficult to deliver a second slap. How so?
The offender won't use his left hand because that goes against tradition. But his right hand can't use a backhanded slap on the victim's left cheek, so the offender will be forced to use his right palm or a fist. But a non-backhand is more proper for an equal, not for someone of lower status. So, using the palm or fist will deprive the offender the opportunity of displaying his superior status and delivering a more serious insult.
Note that it's talking about how you deal with personal insults. It's not in any way talking about prohibiting self-defense against an axe murderer.
Therefore, turning the other cheek simply means not to take revenge for petty things such as personal insults. By not seeking revenge, you put a stop to a cycle of ever-escalating violence. You turn the other cheek by helping the offender realize that his actions are unjustified, then standing back and allowing God to do the rest.
But then, that would go in contrary to a good principle I take to heart, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".
That's a very famous quote often attributed to Edmund Burke, although there's no clear evidence that he actually said or wrote it.
The most important thing to remember is that quote is almost always applied to politics. Which is not surprising, since Edmund Burke was, after all, a political philosopher.
Politics is outside of the scope of the bible. That's because politics is part of the material world, and the bible concerns itself with man's spiritual salvation.
To give you an example, the Roman government during the time of Jesus was very cruel. Death by crucifixion was extremely cruel and barbaric. What did Jesus and his followers say about it? Did they protest by marching on the streets with placards saying, "Abolish flogging and crucifixion"? No.
Did Jesus criticize the Roman government and advocate democracy? No.
Roman taxation during that time was excessive and unjust. Did Jesus advocate proper representation in taxation? No. He just told His followers to pay the tax. Even when forced to give an opinion on taxation, Jesus still refused to criticize the Roman tax.
True Christianity actively avoids politics. Don't believe that political activism is a Christian duty.
Therefore, even though I agree that it's a good quote, I still believe that the proper approach should be to leave scripture out of it.
