An Angry Carpenter

Trey Smith

Following on from this morning's post, Good People, there has been an age old philosophical debate concerning whether we humans are inherently bad or inherently good. Those of the former persuasion argue that, because of our essential sinful nature, we must have strict laws and rulers to keep us from killing each other. Those of the latter persuasion argue that, because of our essential good nature, we need societal institutions to nurture this goodness in us to spring forth and we should play a central role in governing ourselves (democracy).

While I certainly believe there is good in each of us, this does not mean that I necessarily side with the latter perspective. While I do lean that way, from time to time, my position lands more in the middle territory. As I wrote earlier today, I believe our True Nature is compassionate, but mixed in with that compassion is a somewhat negative element. In other words, I think we humans possess a core element of "the good" AND "the bad."

I think we easily can see this dynamic at play in the world within and around us. The meanest and baddest people can do very good things. The most loving "good people" can do very bad things. And sometimes, the "good people" can commit actions that -- while justified in many people's eyes -- prove to be very counterproductive or ineffectual.

Take, for example, the story of one Jesus of Nazareth who one day threw a temper tantrum in the Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus was upset that the powers that be had turned a temple of worship into a temple of commerce. In his rage, he ran around overturning tables and making a general mess of things.

When we view this story, most of us can understand WHY Jesus was angry. The salient question for me, however, is did Jesus's action bring about the kind of change he thought was needed? From all indications, the answer to that question is no.

For all we know, business went on as usual the very next day. The "merchants" turned their tables right side up and, after restocking their wares, went about their merry way fleecing the poor.

From what we know of the stories about him, Jesus was one of the good guys. In this instance, however, he let his anger get the best of him and it came flowing out in a negative torrent. Had he dealt with his feelings of indignation more positively and constructively, he might have been able to think of a strategy by which to effect the kind of change he thought was necessary.

In my opinion, we have a good man who, in this situation, chose a poor path. The inherent goodness and badness within him both showed their face that day and limited the overall effectiveness of a potentially positive outcome.

This same scenario plays out in our own lives as well. Too often, we allow anger and frustration to boil over and muck up situations that might have been solved if only we had kept our cool.