Matthew 5:25
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
Back when I was in grade school, I got into a fight with a fellow student. It was a physical one that drew a big crowd. It also drew the attention of the dean of discipline. Now back then, if you got into a fight at school, corporal punishment was the order of the day. That punishment was both painful and memorable, and neither I nor my combatant classmate wanted that. While we waited outside of the office waiting for the beating to commence we decided that we'd deny that we actually fought. When the dean and sheriff resource officer questioned us, we said that it was just a disagreement and that it wouldn't happen again. We shook hands and left the room. From that point forward we had respect for one another and no trouble again. I also had the respect of his 'crew.'
Today's reading speaks of dealing with anger, especially anger toward one another. People get angry, even Jesus got angry. We read about God becoming angry in the Old Testament. But we also have to deal with the consequences resulting from that anger. Before we reach that level of anger, we must learn to control our emotions and vent them at the right time and place. Today's society can be dangerous when we get angry, especially with a stranger. Fights, road rage, even shootings are more common than ever. There's no respect today for opinions that differ from others. What used to be civil dialog can quickly escalate to insults, name-calling or even physical aggression. Reasonable people, when facing turning their case over to the courts, will try to settle before having a third party decide and you have no control over the outcome. That's why many 'cases' settle out of court. Pray today for emotional control, evoking the Holy Spirit to aid you in your decisions and actions.
