Rubber neckers

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord , who made heaven and earth." ~ Psalm 121:1-2

I just spent the weekend in Charleston and loved being away and spending time seeing the sights and relaxing. I am a history buff and I enjoy checking out old structures and architecture, and I also find it fascinating hearing stories about people and the events of yesteryear. One of the downsides of vacationing is the travel; getting to and from the desired location and the associated frustrations that come along with airports or “windshield time.” I have a tendency to get annoyed when I am driving for any length of time and I will grouse about the ebb and flow of traffic, the failure of people to use their turn signals (just for the record I have not heard of a car yet where they did not come factory installed), and that individual that decides the passing lane is their personal lane and blithely ignores the line of cars behind them who want to actually drive the speed limit.

These minor issues have a way of frustrating me even more when I am tired, and this weekend was no exception. To compound the issue it started to rain on the drive home. It seems to be a universal phenomenon across the country that when road conditions change in the form of rain, snow or ice that we continue to have the mindset that we are invincible and that we do not need to change our speed or be more alert as we drive. This leads to the inevitable situation of drivers losing control and ending up in the median or in a ditch, or worse yet; multi-car fender benders. When this happens the typical response from the other drivers is to slow down; not because they want to avoid a similar misfortune, but because they want to gawk and look at what happened to the other drivers. This is what we all affectionately call rubber necking; we lose focus on the road ahead or the task at hand. We look back or get our attention diverted and this can lead to our own misfortune.

My poor wife and children have had to listen to me complain about other drivers for a long time and I find rubber necking particularly annoying. This weekend was more of the same and my wife gently reminding me that I was grumbling about the driving conditions. It reminded me of a series of messages that my Pastor preached from the book of Numbers and the sin of complaining and how that it displeases God. Up until Numbers 11 the children of Israel had been very faithful and had strived to do everything according to the law of the Lord. They had spent 400 years in captivity and then only after three days after departing from Sinai they started to complain. We are allot like them; when times get tough we tend to get selective amnesia and forget all the pain, struggle and difficulty of the past and how the Lord used it to fulfill His ultimate good for us. In their case it was slavery, cruel whipping and no straw to make their bricks; for us it might be difficulties at work, unfair or unwanted dictates from politicians or higher taxes. We lose our focus and rubberneck at the current trouble and we start to complain bitterly and question what God is doing and why He is doing it.

My Pastor asked us; do we really understand what a supreme offense complaining is before God? The sin we see in Numbers is murmuring and complaining about the necessities of life. What would God say about our complaining? Maybe He would ask us if we truly believe He is sovereign over everything. Why was God so offended? Complaining is our secret way of saying to God; “you will not provide for me or you cannot provide for me and my family.” If we believe God is in control then when we complain we are truly not exhibiting faith and ultimately we are saying to God; “I don’t like the way you are running my life or this world.” My Pastor reminded us that our complaining should help us recognize how fragile our faith truly is because the smallest things can derail or disrupt our thankfulness.

The most sobering thought about our complaining is this; what is it doing to those around us? Our complaining and murmuring is like throwing a rock into a pond; we see the splash and then the ripples that spread out after. What is our complaining doing to our children, our spouses and our fellow Christians? How is it affecting them and what message does it send to those who have not accepted the Gospel message? Does our complaining frame the Gospel in the best possible light or does it make them think that our faith in Jesus Christ has not given us the hope and peace that we claim it does?

I hope you know I am preaching to myself. I came back from a lovely and restful weekend and let a little traffic and rubber necking make me lose perspective on the joy of my rest and relaxation. But in the days and weeks to come I need to rest in the arms of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and not let the temporary make me lose sight of what is permanent and lasting.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” ~ James 1:2-5