. . . and on earth peace, good will toward men..

While my wife, Connie, was out shopping yesterday she ended up on the receiving end of what we have come to call - Road Rage. Definition of road rage is - violent behavior by a driver of an automobile, which can cause accidents or incidents on roadways. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving. In my opinion road rage is a selfish,out of control act by an individual. Selfish because road rage is all about me. Out of control because shows that a person in unable to restrain their anger or emotions because of a situation they don't like. Road Rage is a sad commentary of what our society has become.

We far to often think everything around us is all about pleasing me. We make no place for others or pay no attention to others just tying to walk out their life. Have you ever stood next to a person in a store on a cell phone talking as if no one was around them - forced into listening to their conversation. How about the mother who will doing with the crying baby she is carting around the store or the someone who is has blocked all the traffic in the parking lot so they can get a close parking space. I find this one interesting because they usually go into the store and walk around for hours shopping but somehow feel they are unable to walk an additional 50 feet to get into the store from a parking space. And you know maybe even mentioning these things is just another display of "all about me."

Philippians 2:3 NASB "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" This is a difficult verse to live out. Even at Christmas, which is suppose to be all about buying gifts for others, we go about it almost selfishly. Pushing and shoving people to get the one gift that we MUST have. In a country blessed with much we seem to work hard at getting more, even at the expense of others.

So try something different. Don't push and knock people around to get that prefect gift. Believe God to get you the best deals and the perfect gifts. Help others to find what they are looking for. I believe that if we do this, God will see to it that everything we want to buy for someone else will be found and at a great price. Remember Christmas is all about giving so GIVE some space to the hurried person - the angry person - the worn out looking mom or dad with a bunch of kids. Give time - express love in some acts of kindness - look the other way when someone does you wrong. Take the high road. Because it is on the high road that you will find everything you really need at Christmas. Let's see it goes -Luke 2:14 KJV Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.