Christmas Driving

Right, I went to the financial aide office and got a prepayment on next semester's loan so I decided to splurge on some frivolities today and went to the grocery store. Coming back from the store with my haul of tinned tomatoes, pasta, pears, oatmeal and Tofutti Cuties I realized something. Everyone driving since Thanksgiving had suddenly gone insane.

So, apparently unbeknownst to myself, the season's Creed is actually "peace on earth, goodwill towards man and cut off as many people as possible while making up your own lane." Seriously, what is it about Christmas that turns everyone on the road into a moronic poo head? I was almost hit twice on the way home and I live maybe five miles from Sun Harvest.

And what's worse is at least ONE of the cars in question had a "What Would Jesus Do?" sticker. I am not exactly sure about the actions of our Lord and Savior, however I am pretty sure that Jesus would have used his turn signals.

Which leads me to another thought. Once while in Sunday school we were talking about how we felt about people who advertise their Christianity. I find slapping the Christian symbols up on billboards, business cards and anything nailed down pretty off putting. I tend to find myself drawing back from people who proclaim their Christianity too loudly. Which is disconcerting really. Why do I feel such animosity towards others who share my faith? And thinking back on it, I can directly point to those drivers.

These are people who obviously find Christ important enough to advertise themselves as his followers. These are people who, supposedly, follow his teachings and want others to know that they are following his teachings. These are people who want to show others Christian love, empathy and charity. And apparently they find the best way to do so is to cut off other's while hurtling down residential streets at fifty. These are my fellow Christians? These are the people I am suppose to relate to spiritually?

Is there any wonder that people hate, fear or misunderstand Christians? We proclaim ourselves loudly, we proclaim our values loudly, we proclaim our faith loudly- but when the time for talking is over, our actions speak different messages. So often we see the face of faith that is, frankly, unbecoming more then that- stomach churning. We are as steeped in hypocrisy as we are in tradition.

I am tired of Christians talking the talk without walking the walk. Words are easy, it is actions that proclaim our beliefs. If you speak of Christian love and then deny other's into the House of the Lord, do you practice Christian love? If you speak of forgiveness and hold grudges, are you really forgiving? If you speak of charity and do nothing to help your fellow man, are you really charitable? I say no. Christianity is more then a mantle we can put on or take off when convenient. It is more then words. It is our actions. Christianity is the sum of the decisions we make every day. It is the result, not the intentions. Not the plan.

So, when next you get into your huge SUV- contemplate your What Would Jesus Do? sticker. Ask yourself, would Jesus put himself so above the needs of others that he would not even notice other drivers? Would he be so concerned about shopping, chores or errands that he would never see the homeless on the side of the street? Would he consider himself the important actor and all others merely scenery on the stage of life?

Or would he know that people are watching his actions, for the speak so much louder then a few words quickly said and even more quickly forgotten?