Today as I pulled into the gym's parking lot, I faced a situation.A garbage truck was about 100 feet in front of me and 3 cars were directly behind me. The lot was completely full so space and visibilty was limited.
The truck started backing up in the middle of the lane which gave me nowhere to go. He got to within 50 feet of me and I tapped my horn to let him know I was there. He continued to back up...40 feet...30 feet...20 feet...now I really laid on my horn. The driver jumped out and began yelling at me. Fortunately, the 3 cars behind me had started backing up so I did as well.
After, pulling to the other side of the parking lot, the truck driver jumped out of his truck and continued yelling at me. So, I stepped out of my truck and said loudly, "What's the problem?" Angrily, he yelled at me, "Most people are smart enough to go around!" To which I replied, "What was I supposed to do with 3 cars behind me and you backing up in the middle of the lane?" Then I turned around to go into the gym and said, "What a fool!" He immediately replied, "Don't insult me!"
After 8 miles on the bike, God spoke to my heart..."He was right." That's when I knew God was correcting me.
Jesus taught against being angry and calling people a "fool" in Matthew 5. Paul says to "be angry and sin not" in Ephesians 4.
Up to a point, I was "in the right", but I allowed my anger and my words to make it "wrong"...and I became the "fool" myself.
Yeah, I lost my temper today, but I think I'm growing because I responded to God's correction and now I'm confessing to you..."Hi my name is Bart and I lose my temper sometimes".
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