Let the car in!

A pastor at my church said recently that you learn a lot about a person by their behavior on the road (as well as the style of car they have). Of course this is a rough sketch of a person. It's like judging a book by it's cover, but there is some definite truth in this as well. People often think they are in some sort of one way mirror situation where no one else can see them or know them. Word to those of you who assumed this the case and have used it to your advantage: It's not true. People are watching and perceiving! It goes both ways of course....some people may look shady or downright scary but will actually let you in front of them when you need to turn in to their lane. They may not smile, but deep down we see their decency and politeness. And you nice, happy people who are pretending not to see the cars wanting to get in because your singing or on the phone. Well, true colors might be shown when you continually ignore them.

Every morning I take my son to a small Christian school. There is a back up of those who need to turn right onto the road after the drop-off. It's a slow moving queue in the road which prevents us from coming back onto the road unless someone lets us in. If no one were to let these cars out, they would literally sit there for an hour and a half when rush hour ends. Thankfully the majority of people understand the "take your turn" or "zipper effect" and will let one car in. Sometimes people become overly generous (if there's such a thing) and will let multiple cars in. Unfortunately there comes an occasion where a string of cars, still moving at a slow pace, refuse to look at us needing a break and ride on the bumper on the car in front of them. Now I have to admit, that there were occasions in my depraved past when I did the same. Why did I do it? Well, I had my reasons, but afterwards, I felt childish and guilty for being inconsiderate and taking the low road. So the question I have to others is why would you not let the car in? As I've matured, I can't honestly think of a decent reason why. If I'm running late, it's my fault (or circumstance). If the car has a bumper sticker that offends me, well, that might be a reason, but why is that having a negative effect on me? For all I know, someone just bought that car and hasn't scraped off the bumper sticker. And then of course, people who believe different than me....should I treat them differently? In my faith that would actually be a reason to be especially considerate. So, anyhow, the challenge is for someone to show me a decent reason why not to let a car in front of you on the road or in the parking lot, or wherever. If you can't think of a reason why not, then the challenge is to be sure that you let them in. I'm pretty sure you will feel better for it.