Driving People Away

I read a comment in the AJC this morning about people with fish emblems on their cars trying to get to Heaven sooner. I have to believe that they are referring to the atrocious driving habits of so many with religious paraphernalia on their cars. I've seen it, too, and I have to admit that it really bothers me to see people driving down the road at fifteen miles over the speed limit with a cell phone in one hand and a taco in the other...

What would Jesus do? He'd take the subway. To be honest, I have a hard time seeing Jesus with a driver's license. I have an even harder time seeing Him owning a car. I imagine some of His disciples would have both. I don't think Jesus objects to us driving, or using any tool that's available to us, as long as it is used for good. My Bible says that we, as Christians, have a responsibility to set an example; for some reason, people seem to think that once they get behind the wheel of a car, nobody knows who they are, so they don't have to behave 'like a Christan.' Even though they have a fish on their bumper, a bumper sticker that says, "Honk if you love Jesus," and another one that says, "Follow me to church." That last one should say, "Follow me to the crash site."

The Bible also says that we should obey the law; it seems to me that would include speed limits. Okay, I admit it: I generally only stay close enough to the speed limit as to not attract the attention of any police that might be in the area. I don't say that to suggest that it's okay, just that I don't always do what I know I'm supposed to, either. I'm also willing to concede a few points to the idea that talking on a cell phone isn't really that much different from talking to someone else in the car (it is a little different--normally we really on facial expressions and body language to help convey meaning, so talking on the phone requires more concentration, which, in turn, slows down response time).

My point, though, is that so many people (Christians and non-Christians alike) treat driving as though it were different than every other aspect of life. People that are normally considerate of others think nothing of cutting someone off on the highway. People that are normally quiet and soft spoken will lean on their horns or make obscene gestures to people they don't even know. A yellow light is not a challenge! If you are a Christian on Sunday morning, you should still be a Christian on Monday morning driving to work. If you aren't a Christian, then you shouldn't behave differently just because you're behind the wheel, either.

It isn't just driving. A lot of us seem to think that as long as I go to church, I can live my life as I see fit. There's an old expression that a lot of people spend Saturday night sowing wild oats, and Sunday morning praying for crop failure. Just because God forgives, it doesn't mean that there aren't consequences to one's actions. Sometimes we don't face those consequences ourselves. Sometimes other people pay the price for what we do. Apostle Paul wrote about how easy it is to offend others at times. Jesus talked about how important it is not to offend. Paul talked about eating meat--if, for example, you had the chance to share with Pamela Anderson, would you do it over a two-piece and a biscuit? Would she listen to anything you said if you did? Granted, that's kind of an extreme example, let's go with something more mainstream: If you knew that there was a woman that you wanted to ask out that thought nose-picking was gross, you'd keep your fingers out of your nose while you were talking to her, wouldn't you? What if you were trying to share the gospel with her? What if you were just inviting her to church? Remember that you are the example of the church--is she going to want to go to church with a bunch of nose-pickers? How can you do the work of an evangelist if you go around offending people all the time?