Gracious Driving
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.”
Romans 13:1
I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time in my car — driving to work, running errands, or transporting my progeny to various activities. And when I’m in the car, I often feel pressure to be in a certain place by a certain time. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem except that it seems that everybody else in our lovely city (all 2.2 million!) has decided decided they need to be somewhere at the same time. As a result, wading through a sea of traffic can be stressful. It’s no surprise then, that something known as “road rage” has become a common phenomenon on today's busy roads. Road rage can take many forms, from yelling, to aggressive driving, and even physical violence. Perhaps you have been a victim of such rudeness. Or perhaps you have been tempted to act out after someone cut you off.
Road rage is more than simply losing one’s temper though. It’s a symptom of deeper societal issues: lack of patience, gentleness, kindness, and a failure to love our neighbor, etc., but I think it’s also a subtle mistrust of authority. We might even say that road rage — even if it is due to a gross injustice — comes from a lack of trust in our government’s ability to right a wrong. We don’t believe that the police will catch a rude driver, so we function as sort of a vehicular vigilante, but doing so demonstrates a lack of subjection to the civic order that God has established. Yes, even traffic laws are part of the governing order that God has created.
Paul tells us in Romans 13 that Christians are “to be subject to the governing authorities.” This would include, of course, obeying traffic laws. As Christians, we do so because we believe that laws are ultimately for the good of society. As N.T. Wright explains, “The one true God wants his world to be ordered, not chaotic. This does not validate particular actions of particular governments. It is merely to say that some government is always necessary, in a world where evil flourishes if left unchecked.” (“Paul for Everyone,” p.84)
Of course, there are times when Christians may need to disobey the government (and even violate traffic laws), but, as a rule, this should only happen when the government's laws conflict with God's law. Road rage typically doesn’t fall into this category.
So, when we get behind the wheel today, let us remember God’s grace. Let us also remember that traffic laws are there to maintain an ordered world. Perhaps then, we can ward off the temptation to get back at that rude driver who cut us off. Perhaps then, by God’s grace, we can strive to be good citizens, ambassadors of God’s kingdom, and work for the common good.
