I was driving home yesterday and the car in front of me (it was a Prius, I think) had a few bumper stickers. The first bumper one I saw was for a failed presidential run.
I often wonder whether the person is embarrassed they picked the loser of the political race, or whether they were so sure they picked the better candidate that they want everyone who didn’t vote that way to know they were wrong.
“And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their Lord dead on the floor.” - Judges 3:20-25 ESV
Regardless, the other bumper sticker I saw was more noteworthy to me. It said something like “the closer you follow, the slower I go.” This hit me for two reasons. First, I’m the kind of driver that follows the car in front of me closer than the average. I’m not trying to; I’m just comfortable with my decision speed and am trying to keep the flow moving. I have had vehicles in front of me, on a few occasions, pull over so I could get in front of them. I should point out that I’ve been driving for almost 50 years and have yet to rear-end anyone.
Ironically, I leave plenty of room in front of me when stopping at a light—to the point where I’ve had a couple of determined drivers squeeze in front of me while I’m completely stopped. As interesting as this is, this isn’t my main point either.
The other reason the bumper sticker's message hit me was the selfism that it implied. When you boil it down, the person was telling others that his personal comfort was the most important thing and, if you follow too close, you’ll be punished by him driving even slower. Instead of speeding up a little or moving over to let the vehicle behind him pass, he was going to judge and punish the other vehicle without knowing all the details. I would say it’s equivalent to me honking and flashing my lights to let him know I was not pleased that he was driving so slowly.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:3-11
Both of those reactions assume an intent that neither driver could know existed. Both reactions communicate that what I want is more important than what you want (or maybe even what is mandated by law). Assumptions are dangerous because they provide a mechanism to claim intent, which can lead to anger. Anger, while driving a couple of tons of vehicles, is never a good thing.
Focusing on yourself is dangerous and often sinful. Like the comedian used to reply, I need to “cut it out.” I don’t expect I’ll be successful any time soon, but hopefully I’ll be more aware of when it happens and can ask for forgiveness when I’ve offended someone.
