Confessions Of An Angry Driver

So I have a confession to make.

I am a recovering angry driver.

No, no. It's really true. I'm the driver that will slow down to five under the speed limit when another driver decides to tailgate me. I'm the driver that will match the speed of the vehicle next to me when some moron behind us is weaving back and forth trying to continue their forty over ride to Hell.

I know it's not good. It might not even be "Christian." You know what? There's a reason I don't have any Christian themed stickers or other adornments on our vehicle. Truth is, I genuinely don't want my poor handling of such situations to reflect badly on my Savior.

When a person becomes a follower of Christ, they do change. Sometimes it happens quickly, and other times it happens slowly. Most of the time, it's a varied pace. For instance, an addiction may disappear in a moment, but the swearing might last for years later. Most of the time, things hang on because they aren't so much problems as symptoms of a major issue. Once that big thing is dealt with properly, the symptoms tend to fade away.

Back to driving.

The people that drive with their blinkers on but never turn or change lanes tick me off. When people change lanes with less than a car length between us- My temper flares. When folks go through red lights; not accidentally, mind, but with birds flying; I fight back genuine rage.

I tend to be like Clive Owens' character in the movie Shoot 'Em Up. "Look. I move my finger one inch and other drivers know I intend to change lanes. This guy can't move his finger one lousy inch? What makes him so special?" His character rants a bit more and punctuates his statement by running the guy off the road.

I haven't done that; nor would I; but the temptation has certainly been there!

When bikers decide to ride up the double yellow line, I have to fight the urge to open my door. When they ride up the breakdown lane, I fight the urge to suddenly put on my hazards and pull over. When they tailgate me, I have to keep myself from hitting my brakes.

I'd like to claim that these things are issues of the past. They're not. I'm getting better at handling myself in these situations, but the temptation is absolutely and in no way any less than it was before.

The thing that has changed is that I don't view myself as a bastion of Justice any longer. I used to- I was a rescuer, addicted to injecting myself into situations I had no business being involved with just to say I had rescued someone from something.

That's been dealt with in a large part, though there are still times when that old urge resurfaces. The more it dies away, the more my driving anger simmers down.

It is strange to think that something like a savior complex could directly influence; even birth; a form of angry driving. Yet for me, the connection is unmistakable and undeniable.

In a society that medicates every little issue as if it were the end all be all, the concept of a root issue causing other issues seems to have gone by the wayside. Yet I truly believe that the more we recognize and acknowledge this reality, the more healthy we will become.

This ends the current sidebar. Now back to the regularly scheduled series, which really is in progress. More information was brought to my attention, which after extensive research, has required a total rewrite of part two.