A BLIND RAGE
This month, a man in Milwaukee didn’t like how another motorist was driving, so he pulled out a gun, fired several times into the other car, and drove away. The other car was driven by a young mother with her four children in the back, aged 1, 2, 3, and 4, out for a drive on a Saturday morning. The three-year-old girl was shot and killed. An expert on road rage says that “denial and loss of objectivity” are a contributing factor in the person who becomes enraged. “We tend to overlook our own faults and place blame on others.” No doubt this driver had serious issues before the incident, and it flared out murderously over someone else’s trifling error.
A BLIND EYE
Jesus warned us against overlooking our own serious issues and letting them flare out against other people’s trifling errors. We may have a beam- or plank-sized sin in our own lives, but what often gets our attention is the mote or speck of a sin in someone else’s life. We must maintain a healthy mindfulness of our own imperfections—or risk inflicting horrifying harm to another. An awareness of our own tendencies to sin causes us to have mercy on others and to approach their failings with humility and patience.
Questions
- What was an incident of road rage that impacted you or someone you know?
- In addition to road rage, what are other ways in which people can magnify someone else’s sin and turn a blind eye to their own faults?
- What’s an example of a failing in your own life that has caused you to be slow to condemn others for their failings?
