No Tailgaters in Heaven

Why do otherwise normal people act like crazed maniacs when driving their cars?  You might imagine that the answer to this important question requires a complex analysis funded by a grant from the Department of Transportation.  I don’t think so. I think the answer is obvious.  People are evil by nature.  You see, for a Calvinist, understanding human conduct is easy.  People are sinful by nature. Oh sure, they will say things like, “I am basically a good person” and give you a few examples. But, get them behind the wheel of a car? Forget about it. Their true nature is revealed.

And here’s the thing: the people who are the victims of random tailgating get caught up into the web of bad behavior too.  They are the ones who start thinking evil thoughts about what they would do to the evil tailgater if they weren’t such a good religious person (or afraid of getting shot).  They start to imagine what it would be like to just tap on the brakes and get a million dollar verdict for the injuries the tailgater caused by rear-ending them. 

It turns out that the drivers in my home state of Wisconsin are ranked as the 5^th most rude drivers in all the United States.  That’s what the folks who did the Kars4Kids Survey said. (Maddie Koss, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 7.6.17)  I am not surprised. In my experience, I have been tailgated by people of both genders and all age ranges, although it seems that the drivers ages 16-25 bear much of the blame. Who says I am not becoming a grumpy old man?

I have been studying Paul’s letters to the early churches and he makes big deal about how all of us are sinners who need a Savior other than ourselves. If we need proof, he suggests, just look around.  No matter how much we try to become perfect by doing good, we just cannot get it done. We don’t love God perfectly, and we certainly don’t love our neighbor as we ought.  If you drive the speed limit in the left lane of any highway for a half-hour you will witness the basic “badness” of humanity.  Because people who love their neighbors don’t tailgate and people who love their enemies don’t think evil thoughts about the child of God tailgating them. 

That’s all the evidence I need to confirm my belief that our human nature needs God’s nurture. Heaven’s Highways will have no tailgaters. But, do you think there will be speed limits?  Uh oh.