Have you ever been in traffic and accidentally (or not) changed lanes and cut off another driver? They may have been in your “blind spot” – who knows?! Anyway – the driver whips around you, hits the gas pedal to pass, looks over at you and gives you ‘the finger.’ Or maybe, in a heated argument and before you walked away, someone gave you ‘the finger’ as their final statement. In our culture, flipping someone off has become a common way for people to express their anger and frustration – it’s a quick way to convey strong emotions without having to say a single word – not to mention the shock value of the gesture!
So news flash! If you haven’t watched the news recently, President Trump gave ‘the finger’ to a heckler during a tour at a Ford plant in Michigan. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to USA Today, “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.” I’m not too sure how appropriate his response was and I’m thinking Melania, no doubt, may have had some calmer advice for her man that evening at home!
So, when and where did our finger-signaling start? It seems that giving someone ‘the finger’ dates back over 2500 years. The first written record of the insult occurred in ancient Greece where the playwright Aristophanes made a crude joke using this gesture. When the Romans imported the art, music, and culture of the Greeks, ‘the finger’ came along too.
‘The finger’ eventually crossed the Atlantic and landed in the good ol’ USA. Even in early 20th century America, ‘the finger’ was the one symbol every man, woman, and child understood, and with the invention of the automobile, it could be delivered from behind the safety of glass & steel and at great speeds. Now farmers did it, hippies did it, and even our President has joined the act. Today is appears in films, school yards, and network television. I have come to the conclusion that this particular gesture is probably here to stay.
But that said – is this the only ‘finger’ gesture that’s available to us? After all – we have ten fingers! What about the other finger gesture? The one using our index finger and pointing straight up to heaven? Pointing the index finger up symbolizes a connection to the Divine. For Christ-followers, it points to heaven and reflects belief in one God.
Christian art often depicts saints & prophets raising their index finger toward heaven. Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” in the Sistine Chapel, famously shows God extending His own index finger to give life to Adam in the Garden of Eden. God’s index finger sent a powerful message of Divine life to mankind.
In 1962, when working for Reuters, Frederick Forsyth was posted in East Berlin where he nearly started WWIII. Returning home late one night, he found his path blocked by Soviet armored divisions – tanks, rocket-launchers, motorized infantry – all rumbling along in the deep dead of night. As soon as he reached his telex, he filed a story that a Russian assault on West Berlin was imminent. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the British prime minister at the time, and President Lyndon Johnson had to be woken up.
NATO was also put on red alert. Then a wise old hand at Reuters in London suggested that Frederick check to see if perhaps this was a rehearsal for the upcoming May Day Parade. Oops – yes, it was!
Simply by sending a wrong message, Frederick almost blew up the world. People don’t need to agree with your political message in order to be saved. Not everyone will like the way you maneuver your trolley but they can still be forgiven and loved by God. Honesty – everyday, we are sending out some kind of message!
Without doubt, there will still be those who drive & gesture and rant & gesture, but as Christ-followers, we can use a different finger and deliver a very different message! Maybe the next time someone gives you ‘the finger’ you can give them a big ol’ smile and give them ‘the other finger.‘ Selah!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
