Driving Woes

You know, I enjoy my children. Alot! So, when someone on the road uses very poor judgment, or is just plain obnoxious, I have a hard time not getting angry, since they are actually putting my children in danger by doing so. Especially when they're pulling up in my back seat or cutting me off and barely missing the front fender. "These are my kids you're endangering, dude!" I shout these kinds of things at them--sure that it will help them change their ways.

Yesterday, as I was heading out after two sick days in a row, I noticed a large red Dodge Ram coming up quickly on my rear bumper. I already had intentions of changing into the right hand lane, and was reaching for my blinker when the guy started to swerve into the right lane. He quickly realized what I was doing, stayed in the lane behind me, and apparently gassed it, as suddenly he was just about on top of me. I must not have changed lanes fast enough, because as he passed, he pretended to swerve close to me as if to offer a warning.

Now, I'm not a violent guy most of the time, but I WANTED to pull the guy from his truck and force him to learn some manners. What I did was to have an inner war and hold my tongue and actions to a very minimal , “What a stinker!” (Remember, my boys were in the car, and I did NOT want to teach them that behavior. Let them learn it from their friends at school, where we all learned it!)

The truth is, what I saw as rude, obnoxious, and juvenile, is exactly what people observing my life would feel about my behavior at times. I don’t believe any of us is exempt from doing things that fall short of the socially acceptable norms. Sure, some like to argue that we should each do “what’s right for me,” and have no consideration for how their actions affect others. But, the moment my “what’s right for me” is inconvenient to those people, suddenly, there is a set standard they want to pull up.

The truth is, if we would all just kind of follow the Golden Rule of “Treat others the way you want to be treated,” I believe things could be a lot better. Oddly enough, Jesus said something like that, too. “Love your neighbor as yourself,” was how He said it.

So instead of worrying about what all of the Red Dodge Ram guys do to me, what I should consider is how can I be pro-active in how I treat them? What can I do to demonstrate the type of behavior I wish to receive? To some, it seems naïve, and everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion. But, I am going to choose to try and follow Jesus words. So the next time I see Red Dodge Ram guy, I’ll move out of his way earlier, and hope that he stays safe on the road!