Christians and the Etiquette for the Road

We have all seen the fish emblem on the trunk, the cross decal on the rear windshield, the "Honk if you love Jesus!" bumper sticker, or any number of other religious automobile placards intended to make a distinctive Christian statement to roadway onlookers. Unfortunately, we probably all share common experiences that have found us observing these symbols as the vehicles dawning them whiz by us vastly exceeding the speed limit or cutting us off. To be honest, every time this has happened to me I have initially thought, "what a hypocrite". Admittedly this is the wrong attitude. But if I as a Christian am reacting this way, I can not help but wonder how unbelievers receive such rude behavior. Although I and many other Christians are not choosing to state our faith on the roadways by driving vehicles clad with Christian symbols or bumper stickers, such behavior has caused me to do some evaluating as to what sort of statement, if any at all, Christians should be making on the road and what should be the proper etiquette for the road.

Since all Christians have been given the Scriptural mandate to be "salt and light" to the world in which we live, the question as to whether or not we should seek to demonstrate our faith on the roadways is certainly obvious. The greater question then is, how can we most effectively do this? As previously mentioned, many choose to do this by displaying distinctly Christian emblems or stickers on their vehicles. While I am not suggesting that this is a wrong thing to do, I simply am not sure this is the best way of accomplishing the goal. While the stickers and emblems do tend to identify us as Christians, I am not convinced anyone has ever effectively been drawn to Christianity because someone they knew identified himself as a Christian (much less someone they have never met). I actually think there is a more effective way. I believe we can demonstrate the love of Christ simply by practicing the proper road etiquette.

Please allow me to suggest three major points of emphasis in regard to etiquette for the road:

1. Obey the traffic laws. As Christians we are called to obey the laws of the land. Therefore this should be an obvious point. However, many of us have developed bad habits through the years such as floating stop signs, not turning on blinkers at appropriate times, etc. Remember the laws exist to keep you and others on the road safe. Showing the love of Christ on the road starts with loving people enough to seek their safety.

2. Slow down and be courteous. I know this can be extremely difficult given the "rat race" we live in today. Regardless, we need to seek to live at a moderate pace of life so that we are not rushed, causing us to make poor and selfish decisions that are rude (This means no more hotrodding fellas). It will also be helpful if we stay off the cellphones and find another time to do our make up (ladies).

3. Avoid road rage at all costs. Given what we are trying to accomplish here, this seems rather obvious. However, if you do find yourself becoming angered by the actions of others on the roadways seek to channel that anger into a loving response rather than an outburst of rage.

Perhaps none of these actions alone is ever going to cause any individual to say to herself, "wow! I think I want to become a Christian". But, if enough Christians become dedicated to showing the love of Christ to others on the road perhaps we can demonstrate that we do take our faith seriously and we are not simply a bunch of hypocrites. This could help some to become intrigued by the uniqueness of the Christian faith, or at least prevent many from being completely turned off by it.