I am convinced that bad drivers are stalking me. No matter where I am, somehow, I end up surrounded by people who shouldn’t be allowed to operate model cars, let alone motorized vehicles. It makes me wonder what the DMV is up to!
Take today for instance. On my way home I ended up behind a taxi (you know this isn’t going to end well!). At the first light the taxi stopped 2 car lengths before the light. At the next light, he decided to change tactics and stop one car length into the intersection! Between the lights he slowed down to a leisurely 25 mph in a 35 mph zone. Apparently he was sight seeing…
The final straw was the fact his meandering ways made me sit at 3 extra lights. If I had sped around him I would have made those lights. But I knew that was reckless, so I just let my anger bubble while I sat behind the guy trying to will him to drive the speed limit.
Let me tell you, no matter how much I used my “mental powers” to make him move faster, it didn’t work. Fortunately I had a left turn to make, which would allow me to escape the cab’s obviously evil clutches. Escape I did. Unfortunately another yahoo on up the road had conveniently pulled 1/3 of the way into my lane while trying to make a turn.
I was so ticked off that I swerved around him. Looking in my rear view mirror I made my “where did you learn to drive, ya idiot!” expression. The whole time thinking, “who pulls into oncoming traffic like that?! What is wrong with people?!”
I returned my attention to the road with just enough time to avoid rear ending the guy in front of me, who had stopped at the next light.
… …
Somewhere along the way I had become that lunatic. I had become the guy who had no business driving. Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what other people are doing or saying that we not only ignore our own behavior, but it can actually make us do the wrong thing. If I had been focusing on the road, and not worrying about other people’s driving habits, I never would have been in that situation.
God talks a lot about how we should treat other people. And we often think it’s only for their benefit. But that’s not true at all. Sometimes the reason we extend grace and love to other people, is so we stay focused on the road and avoid our own accidents.
