punch

BAM!

20121127-011219.jpg Today I wanted to punch a stranger in the face. I really did. So why didn't I? Virtually every person present that would have witnessed the event would have most likely cheered. But would that have made it ok? No, it wouldn't have. A popular consensus does not always justify an action.

What about the way I felt in that moment? Was that ok? I mean I was really angry, annoyed, and put off by this incredibly unpleasant person. Maybe. Feelings do not carry any moral weight on their own. In other words, being mad or upset is not inherently sinful. However, where you allow those feelings to lead you, how you act on them, is absolutely a moral matter.

Punching Unpleasant-Man in the face might have felt good briefly, but only because some part of me somewhere inside felt infringed upon. It illuminated a measure of pride that I never even realized was there. So what did Jamie and I do? After a brief and unproductive rant on Twitter I started praying for the guy. Right there in the restaurant I bowed my head and asked God to help me sort through my emotions without causing a scene, and to shut the loud mouth up too. Guess what? BAM! He did both.