I've lived in Texas since 2007, and having lived nearly all over the continental U.S., I can confidently say that there's nothing remotely "friendly" about the way Texan's drive or any other state I've lived in for that matter. In fact, the ratio of 1 ton pickups to passenger vehicles can flat out make you feel a little uneasy on the open road.
We all encounter less than cordial drivers when we're on the road, people who will take us to the very threshold of losing our salvation. People who are so utterly oblivious to the existence of anyone besides themselves, who make you so mad that you wonder if Paul the apostle ever encountered rush hour traffic when he said that God's grace is sufficient. You wanna see a thorn in the flesh Paul? I'll show you a thorn in the flesh! I digress.
What is certainly a universal frustration for all of us got me thinking, I wonderful if some of us have a tendency to drive our lives much like we drive our cars? Allow me to explain.
First up, my personal favorite. Have you ever been driving on the freeway, and someone cuts across 8 lanes of traffic in order to reach their exit in time? I'm sure that their are legitimate reasons for the occasional necessity of not noticing your exit until the very last minute, but I can't help but think sometimes of the lack of vision people may have in their lives when they can't seem to prepare far enough in advance just to merely exit the highway.
How can we ever concentrate enough to visualize and obtain our goals, our destiny or our future if we fail to notice what's going on right in front of us?
Next up, the Nascar drivers. These are the folks that are constantly weaving in and out of various lanes in an apparent attempt to reach their destination before everyone else on the road. Aside from the occasional woman in labor or a crazy bad case of diarrhea, what this communicates to me is that where you're going must be more important than where I'm going, so much so that you're willing to put everyone's life in danger (including your own) to get there.
The irony is that I will inevitably see you at the next stop light, and for all your intense efforts, you will most likely end up right next to me or maybe you may have earned the spot right in front of me.
Although the moniker, "I wanna go fast!", makes for an utterly hilarious movie quote, as does any phrase with the word "spider-monkey" in it, this isn't necessarily the best motto for how you live your life. Just look at the mess Ricky Bobby's father made for himself. (Yes, I did just use a plot point from Talladega Nights to teach a valuable life lesson.) Selah.
Next up, the red light runners. Sure lane crossing and cutting in and out of traffic can be dangerous, but none so dangerous as the red light runners. Aside from the fact that you are breaking the law, this is where so many traffic fatalities occur on a daily basis. Habitual red light runners simply have no regard for rules. This tells me that you have no commonality or basis with which to reason. It's not that you don't recognize the merit of divine order and principle, it's just that you choose to ignore it, thus placing the lives of everyone around you in danger as a result. This is obviously no way to live your life.
Lastly, for the sake of not making this blog the encyclopedia of all blogs, we have the texters. These are the folks that you can spot from a mile a way. They are either having extreme difficulty staying in their own lane, maintaining a consistent speed limit or both. Or perhaps you happen to notice that a tree or another vehicle has abruptly and oh-so-irreverently interrupted their texting time, thus perhaps necessitating the need for a new vehicle all together.
Honestly, I don't mean to be a fuddy duddy (sp), nor do I mean to take any of these instances lightly. In my opinion, the worst one of these examples I've given is the texters. Why? Because this communicates the worst of all human ailments. It tells me that we've lost our ability distinguish, delineate and discern what's truly important in life. If someone sends you a text and you happen to be driving, I'm sure they'd much rather see you again sometime (alive) than know that you remembered to get their orange juice when you went to the store, what time an event starts or what was up and stuff.
See that? I relieved my vehicular frustrations AND communicated some valuable truth at the same time! My mother would be proud. Thanks mom for teaching me some good ol' common sense!
I am proud! If I had to choose between common sense and "educated" sense I would choose common sense hands down. Of course, it's great to have both! And thank heaven for Ricky Bobby's mama - she tamed those wild horses with some good ol' fashioned discipline and got them all to church! Uh oh, there we go again with the out dated notion of common sense...
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