Bad Drivers

A friend from a former church once complained to me about bad drivers. He said that when you went to get your driver's license renewed, they should issue you a dart gun with five darts. Each dart had a little flag on one end that simply said "idiot." Whenever you saw someone doing something stupid, you could shoot their car with the dart gun so the "idiot flag" was clearly visible. Whenever the police saw a car with three "idiot flags,"they would pull the person over and give them a ticket for bad driving!
I know how he felt! I have seen some of the crazy things people do when they get behind the wheel!
Just this past week I was coming home from church on Viola Road. I looked in my rearview mirror to see this driver pass a car that was a ways behind me. And Mr. Bad Driver was in a big hurry! He was catching up to me quickly.
There was a pickup in front of me - driving at a reasonable rate of speed. So I was content to stay behind Mr. Pickup. But not Mr. Bad Driver! As we were going up a hill, he pulled out to pass me! And, we were in a no-passing zone! I just shook my head in wonder as he went around me!
But then I was astounded when he stayed in the left lane to pass Mr. Pickup too! Just before we reached the top of the hill, another car popped over the hill towards us! Mr. Bad Driver had no place to go! Fortunately, Mr. Pickup swerved onto the shoulder and I hit my brakes hard, expecting something terrible was about to happen. Mr. Bad Driver quickly pulled into the lane the pickup had vacated and just missed a head-on collision!
I wondered why anyone would be in such a hurry to pull such a stupid stunt as that! His bad driving could have easily impacted many lives in the four cars that were there - which included mine! Why would anyone be in such a hurry to risk the lives of people in four different vehicles? It makes absolutely no sense!
But then...don't we do stupid things? I know I have caught myself making a mistake in my driving that I would describe as idiotic driving! And I am sure you have too! We all make stupid driving decisions at some time or another. And some of our blunders are costly.
The rules of the road were not designed to prevent us from enjoying driving. They were designed for the safety of the drivers on the road. We know that. But sometimes we get in a hurry, like Mr. Bad Driver, and we find ourselves in serious danger.
God's rules of life were not designed to prevent us from enjoying life. They were designed for our safety and the safety of others. Many of life's problems and much of life's pains could be avoided by "loving God with all our hearts, with all our soul, and with all our mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves" (Matthew 22:37-39).
Just consider for a minute the consequences of how we live. Every conversation today will impact our relationships tomorrow. Every action today will reflect on our character tomorrow. Every selfish attitude today will damage our relationship with God immediately.
You see, living by the rules makes a difference! The Psalmist knew this when he wrote, "I have your decrees as a heritage forever, indeed, they are the joy of my heart. I am resolved to obey your statutes to the very end" (Psalm 119:111-112). Living by the rules brings joy, not misery!