who you really are

You wanna know what amuses me? How people can be so nice to one another in person, i.e. saying hello or asking how someone's day has been. Polite, you know the "we can paste a smile on our face and pretend like we are best friends with every other being on the planet" polite. But think about what happens when we get inside of our cars, our armored tanks so to speak. We're inaccessible and safe, safe to be are real selves. We're isolated from all other drivers, and it's like we become different people. Like because of our tinted windows or inaccessibility we become not best buds with our fellow drivers, but rather adversaries. We get annoyed with the "grandma or grandpa" Sunday drivers. You know the kind that drive exasperatingly slow, those who actually have the nerve to drive below the speed limit, as if they were riding in a buggy just taking in the sights all around them. My usual response? "All right, Grandpa, move a little faster."

Or how about those jerks who cut us off nearly causing us to have a heart attack. Yea, I've definitely got it in for them. Ooooh here's a good one – a driver who tailgates you just because you're doing the speed limit. This one is near and dear to me because I like to drive the speed limit most times. And I have to say that for my part I become very smug when someone passes me just to have to stop at the next light, where I proceed to pull up next to them in a matter of moments. "So in the end what did it really gain them?" I think self-righteously.

Road rage! Now there's a cheery term. Ever been the victim of it? Not a pleasant experience at all. Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago my husband and I were driving down the interstate. The left lane was under construction so that we weren't able to move over for the car that was trying to merge on next to us. Expecting the other driver to yield, my husband was forced to slam on the brakes when the driver nearly side-swiped us. Last time I checked drivers merging on to the interstate are supposed to yield. Yes, that's right, yield. Well, apparently this driver didn't know that law, so my husband gave them a shout-out – he honked his horn. The lovely person on the passenger side proceeded to roll down his window and give us "the finger".

Okay, so it's not exactly road rage, but think about what might have happened if this had been a face to face encounter? If someone cut in front of us and we had to "yield" to them, we would never give them the finger. An irritated glance maybe, but, more likely if they'd realized what they'd done and apologized, we'd say politely back, "No problem." Would that same courtesy have worked if we were secluded in our cars? Nope. You don't have to be nice to someone you can't see person to person. They're just a nameless face, not even really that, a car – whether one that cuts us off, gives us the finger, or tailgates us, they're all just cars, not the people we pretend to love and adore. Jesus once told us to love our neighbors, even the ones that are difficult. So, the next time you're in your car and are cut off, or tailgated, or whatever other rude things we do to people on the road, think about how you would handle it if you knew who that person in the car was. Better yet, think about how you would handle it if you were dealing with them face-to-face. Oh, and when you read the verse below try inserting the word, "car" for enemy and "tick you off" for persecute. Because behind every armored vehicle on the road, there's actually a person we're supposed to be loving.

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemies'. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43)