We had an early Father's Day family outing to the zoo yesterday. Grandpa had a great time watching the animals with Ruby. It was a good thing we had Gracie along; she read the plaques to us, giving us essential information about the various animals.
For instance, she told us we shouldn't smile at the spider monkeys because they take bared teeth as a sign of aggression. "Who cares?" I thought. There was a fence between us and the monkeys, so how aggressive could they get? I grinned big and noticed one of the monkeys swinging along the fence until he got in front of me and bared, not his teeth, but another part of his anatomy at me.
Gracie should have read the part about how excellent a spider monkey's aim is.
Thankfully I stopped smiling in time, and the monkey lost interest in me shortly after I lost interest in it. Aggression is often unpredictable. I've seen aggressive drivers, sports fans, and political fanatics. Thankfully none of them have mistaken my smile as an excuse to unload on me. Not like that monkey, anyway!
Psalm 2 asks the question, "Why do the nations rage?" Why, indeed? What is to be gained by the anger and abuse often hurled at others with whom we disagree? Nothing for the kingdom of God, that's for sure! And the Psalm makes it clear that it's the nations that rage. The people of God are invited to join their Heavenly Father for a very different response.
And as for me, I'll keep smiling! I'll just stand a bit further back.
