Angels aren't jerks.

The cover of 1953's Angel Unaware, by
Dale Evans Rogers. It tells the story of
Roy's and Dale's daughter,
Robin Elizabeth Rogers, born with
Downs Syndrome. I have not read it,
but it seemed a fitting illustration.

When I'm especially troubled by a conversation or the actions of others, I often recall the biblical statement that we sometimes entertain angels unawares. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant for the moment; it's a pleasant conceit.

I must also remember, however, that in instances where humans reportedly encountered angels, the angels didn't purposely try to challenge or confuse anyone. In other words, angels aren't jerks.

If you're having trouble with a jerk, you're not talking to an angel.

And maybe you weren't in any case; but we are then confronted with an even greater challenge, aren't we? To turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, be kind to those who spitefully use us.

That's very difficult. Even most Christians I know are not very good at practicing that.

But my father was very good at it. He would become upset like anyone else (as when a customer at Loblaws, where he was a manager, told him to shove a box of Fiddle Faddle up his ass), but I saw him far more often shrug or smile in the face of an insult.

I do that myself now. It doesn't come naturally, but unfortunately there is no dearth of opportunities to practice.

[2014-07-19]

c0