Me First!

The other day, my wife and I followed some of the teens from our church youth group to a "Jam" concert featuring several popular Christian bands - some with names I even recognized! Have I mentioned how hanging out with the youth can really energize those of us who are starting to "sit, soak and sour" in our pews? Anyhow, the event was awesome, though I know my age is really starting to show when I have to stuff cotton in my ears to cut the sound to a decibel level my tired eardrums can manage (well, except for Third Day - I really had to hear them completely uncorked). All in all, it was a great time. Our youth even "adopted" an orphan from Thailand halfway through the show, agreeing to sponsor her financially until she finds a permanent home.

The only blemish on an otherwise exceptional night occurred on the way into the concert. As we made our way from the main road into the venue parking lot, we came to a turn where two lanes of cars narrowed into one. As we approached, it seemed like most of the drivers were taking turns merging: first one car from the right lane, then one from the left, kinda like the teeth of a zipper. When we came to the front of the line, we paused for the next car from the opposite lane, then started to take our turn. To our surprise, the woman in the car next to us refused to let us in, hanging onto her steering wheel like grim death; her grill seemingly glued to the bumper of the truck in front of her. My wife motioned that we were trying to follow a van now several cars ahead of us, but to no avail; our neighbor kept her eyes fixed firmly ahead with all the determined concentration of a Bulldog eying a hamburger.

At first, I was angry. I really wanted to follow the woman to her parking spot and suggest that if she wished to drive like she was the only person that mattered, perhaps she should remove the fish symbol from her car. Fortunately, we were able to spot our youth up ahead and catch up to them, and in the excitement of seeing several of my favorite Christian bands for the first time ever, I mostly forgot about the incident. As we left the concert, I happened to spot the same woman, and my irritation flared up again... And as I pondered the idea of blogging about how ugly selfishness looks in a Christian, I began to experience a sense of conviction about my own motives and behavior. The following verses seemed to leap out of the dark at me like a neon sign:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. (Matthew 5:40-41)

Now, what these verses says to me is that I should automatically be willing to put others (or let others go) first, even if I think I have a right to go first. They tell me that before I go passing judgment on anyone else, I really need to take a critical look at how my own motives and behavior measure up. They tell me that I should give grace, rather than insisting on justice, since I received grace myself at great cost to our Lord.

As I think back on all the times I have really lost my temper behind the wheel (okay, there are too many to really remember all of them), those two verses kinda make me want to slide down in my seat a bit. So I had to wait behind one more car before catching up to our group. Big deal. How do I know the woman in the car wasn't following someone herself? I don't. What had I really lost? Nothing... especially compared with the guilt I would be feeling right now had I really given the woman a piece of my mind and only then remembered the wisdom above.