“the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously” (2 Kings 9:20).
You close the door, buckle your seatbelt, check the car is in gear, and turn the engine on. Check your mirrors, indicate, and off you drive. I’m not trying to offer a driving lesson, but that describes what many of us spend a lot of time doing – driving.
Here are some thoughts on godly driving:
Sin
Driving reveals a lot about us. My family see a side of me when I’m driving which I’m not proud of. It’s not unusual for feelings of frustration, exasperation, anger, and impatience to come to the surface. It’s often a pressurised, stressful, harried experience. On speed awareness courses, they explore what is it that makes us drive fast. There’s usually an underlying impatience. Am I going to get caught in that yellow-box junction?! Why do I spend so long waiting at traffic lights on red? Why do I have to hit unexpected traffic when I’m running late? Look at that aggressive driver! Why is this person driving so slow!? I see cyclists and pedestrians as obstacles that obstruct my progress. Then there are drivers who won’t let you in, and drivers who push in – drivers who use the wrong lane, and learner drivers. Why did he honk his horn at me? Why is he tail-gating?
When we show up in church, and confess our sins to God, how many sins of the roads are there?
Citizens
I remember a striking Ted Donnelly sermon based on flying axe-heads in Deut 19:5 applied to new drivers getting behind the wheel. Every time we turn our car engine on, he pointed out that we take on a massive responsibility. As I operate that engine, I have the capacity to do massive damage to property and to people. It’s a sobering thought, and one that we’d do well to meditate on.
I’m thankful I’ve not been involved in a serious car accident. But they happen very regularly.
A road is a shared space, with individuals all travelling in different directions, doing their own thing. In this shared space, we have to relate to each other. So, how I behave on the roads is going to embody how I relate to society as a whole. How I treat speed limits shows how I relate to political authority (Rom 13:1). Cultivating good habits there is good practice for loving my neighbour. It’s suggested you should imagine three specific details about other drivers. For example, they’re travelling to see their daughter, they have a pet cat, and their mum is not well. That helps humanise them. Rather than perceive other road users as opponents and threats to my journey, recognise them as neighbours to love.
Love of place
Andy Crouch contrasts cycling with driving. He argues that cycling extends our bodies capabilities and brings us closer to our environment. Driving, he argues, is a privatising experience. It doesn’t bring me closer to others on the road, but separates us into bubbles. It’s worth recognising the way driving nudges us towards paying less attention to people and place.
Speed
The motor-car helps us travel to places faster. Journeys that would have taken most of the day now take under an hour. Strangely, that speed hasn’t reduced our feelings of busy-ness. I often associate driving with the feeling of being late, the pressure of letting others down, and the poor planning. I find I rush to get to places, thinking I’m saving time, but ignore the large amounts of time I can waste when I eventually get there. That deep feeling of “rush” needs the work of the Holy Spirit in growing the fruit of “patience” and “peace” (Gal 5:22).
Piety
The car can be a good place to pray and sing. It’s one of the more private, sound-proof spaces we find ourselves in – the modern-day equivalent of the prayer closet (Matt 6:6)! In a car you can pray out loud without being overheard. Similarly, shared car journeys can be valuable. Giving people lifts to places, using our car for the good of others, and road trips with friends can be real ways of getting to know people. Car journeys can allow a kind of talking which gets under the surface of the small-talk we often put up with.
Like all tools, cars need wisdom to use them in ways that glorify God. Godly driving should be discernible. Jesus’ calls us to be salt and light on the roads, as much as anywhere else.
