We have just entered the summer vacation season. Many have already left for their vacations or will do so soon. Some will stay close to home enjoying their yards, entertaining family and friends with delicious barbecues. Hopefully, we can do this with good weather and good Christian companionship.

However, with the vacation season also come busy roads, scorching temperatures, and lots of road repair. Many of us have sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours; the temperature and humidity are high; the kids are getting cranky; the temperature gauge is rising dangerously; then suddenly, some foolish driver cuts in front of you, causing you to slam on your brakes. What is your reaction at that moment? It is not impossible that you get very angry, sputtering some unprintable words, gesturing wildly and threatening this foolish driver by getting as close to his back bumper as possible. This is called “road rage” and it is not at all uncommon. All kinds of people can react this way: an elderly gentleman, a young mother, teenagers, and so on. Road rage can get so out of hand that people ram each other’s cars, get out of their cars and start a fist fight, or worse.

I recall a tragic case in the United States a few years ago where two young women got angry with each other on the highway, resulting in the one woman shooting the other to death. We can imagine her phone call to her husband later that day: “Honey, I am in jail.” “Why?” he asks. “Well, this woman who is a complete stranger cut me off on the highway and so I shot her with my gun.” It sounds ludicrous and it is.

The tragedy is that it is so common – not always with such fatal results, but bad enough!

Recent Studies⤒🔗

In very recent studies, medical researchers claim that people who exhibit road rage could be suffering from intermittent explosive disorder (IED), a psychiatric condition far more prevalent than previously thought. It is believed that millions of North Americans are affected by the disorder, which can trigger outbursts of road rage, tantrums that lead to violent or destructive acts, and even domestic abuse. It is alleged that IED involves multiple outbursts that tend to be “grossly out of proportion to the situation.” It is linked to the inadequate production or functioning of serotonin, a mood and behaviour-regulating chemical in the brain. In other words, road rage is not just bad behaviour but a mental disorder.

I cannot evaluate the legitimacy of the medical research on IED. But even if it was true and it helped us to understand why some people have a greater tendency to such things as road rage, that still does not justify their behaviour. Behaviour is something we must all control. If someone has a tendency to temper tantrums and road rage, that person must take precautions: drive less aggressively; give yourself plenty of time for a trip, factoring in such things as traffic problems; have plenty of sleep and not drink alcohol before driving; learn to be philosophical about the open road – learn to laugh or mildly shake your head at the antics of others. Be glad that you are safe and that you are still on the way to your travelling destination. Getting all worked up about another foolish driver is only going to ruin your day. Smiling or ignoring such things allows you to focus on your family, the good times, and hopefully a wonderful vacation.

Anger←⤒🔗

There is a lot of anger and violence among human beings. Globally we have seen deep-rooted anger between countries and different ethnic groups which erupt into unspeakable violence. In our own country we have terrorist groups planning violence against peaceful Canadians. Gang violence has become commonplace in our cities. Courts and prisons are packed with people who have committed acts of violence because of hatred toward others. Sometimes it involves spouses and families. We are reminded of James 1:19-20:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Sermon on the Mount←⤒🔗

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ made clear that to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven meant living a holy lifestyle in keeping with his commandments. He said in Matthew 5:22: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” This command of Jesus Christ is thought-provoking and not a little frightening. The point is: who is completely free from anger? Who doesn’t get at least a little offended and angered when someone dangerously cuts them off on the highway? Now to be fair, we should understand that the Lord Jesus is not speaking so much about that initial flaring up of anger. In fact, at times such things are completely understandable. You can imagine your emotional state when you see a huge bully beating up on your little child – you get angry, run out, and protect your child. You should do that properly, without using bad language and unnecessary violence. But when the Lord Jesus speaks about being angry with your brother, he is talking about staying angry, nursing a grudge, looking to keep the anger alive and mounted against the object of your displeasure. This is unholy and unspiritual behaviour. This allows Satan to enter our hearts and do his work. As both Jesus and James says: man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

We may think of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” Whether someone cuts us off on the highway, or someone close to us lets us down, it is understandable that we feel disappointed, annoyed, and that anger starts to rise in our hearts. But such anger cannot be nursed in our hearts nor acted upon. Patience, kindness, forgiveness, and keeping no records are hallmarks of those who have been washed in the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ. In other words, anger is not to control us but we are to control anger. We must master our emotions no matter how raw they feel or how much we may be inclined by personality to act badly.

The Cure for Road Rage←⤒🔗

The “cure” for road rage and anger, in general, is in our Lord Jesus Christ. He has fulfilled all the commandments in our place and He was abused horribly and relentlessly without retaliating in return. It is through faith in Jesus Christ, through prayer to God where we struggle with our sins and weaknesses, and thinking concretely about how we are to act as the children of God that also receive the grace we need to live in holiness before God and with our fellow man. Even if we suffer from what is called “intermittent explosive disorder” we can be helped in dealing with this through prayer and consciously fighting against our sinful tendencies through the power of Christ’s Spirit. In this way we also become an example or a light to the world around us. In a world of so much hostility and retribution, it is a breath of fresh air to have kind, forgiving, and patient people. It is a rich opportunity to show the richness and joy of having Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.