When I recently asked the grocery store clerk whether or not she had seen an uptick in rudeness from customers, boy did I get an earful!

The stories are all around us, of air rage, road rage, and a short-temperedness in otherwise civil discourse that seems to be on the increase.

While we may think that the negative effects of these outbursts are limited to the incidents themselves, researchers have shown that there are long-term effects to our exposure to rudeness. It affects our focus, our patience, and even our creativity.

In one study, two groups of people were asked how they might use a pile of bricks? The first group was not exposed to an incivility.  They thought of ideas like building walls, skyscrapers, and laying roads. The second group was exposed to one incident of incivility, and they suggested things like throwing a brick through a window, placing it on a sidewalk for someone to stub their toe, or using it as a weapon.

What's more, the effects of these incivilities haunt us whether we are the aggressors or the victims.

This Sunday, we will hear the story of Jesus healing a man with severe psychological problems, demon possessed, unable to control his outbursts, a person certainly prone to rudeness and incivility.

Exactly how Jesus did it is up for debate - but what is known is that Jesus delivered him.

Experts say that responding to and enduring life's incivilities can be compared to a virus, meaning that the healthier we are, the better we eat, exercise, and get good sleep, the easier it is for us to ward off viruses. So when it comes to responding to rudeness, the healthier we are, spiritually and emotionally, the better results we can expect.

 

And this means drawing closer to the ways Jesus invites us to live. In this Season after Pentecost, we are encouraged to dwell in the Spirit of Jesus - its fruits are patience, love, joy, and self-control. Being spiritually healthy is our best weapon against incivility. How are we doing that in our lives?

And when you and I look at the ways we can impact our world, following the example of Jesus, and injecting as much civility, kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion, forgiveness, and love, as possible, may be our best answer.