Speeding Heart

Most of the time when I'm driving on my local freeway, I notice that each vehicle acts independently from the other surrounding vehicles. And I mean to the extreme. Everybody wants to be first in line; nobody enjoys being cut off or slowed down. Today I noticed something different.

Living on a peninsula, there are only two main roads that run north and south: Routes 5 and 235. Southern Maryland is growing rapidly, as, it seems, everywhere else. The result is increased traffic on the road most heavily traveled to various workplaces around the county. 235 is crazy enough, and on top of that the speed limit is just 55mph.

I have a 30 minute drive to work, and it's just not fun to be on the road for an hour every day. I am constantly tempted to push 60...then 70, and I admit I average a speed of 70mph during the daily commute. The battle with the old nature is strong sometimes, especially in circumstances where breaking the law is accepted by the norm. And especially when 70mph is the flow of traffic.

Every time my speedometer reaches or passes 70mph my eyes are the widest and my heart beats the quickest. 'Is that a cop?' I reputedly ask myself, carefully judging each vehicle behind me for lights or Crown Vic characteristics. Cops love to lurk in all the nooks and crannies of 235, and I'm sure it's a rush to squeal their tires on the random casual speeder.

I have to say, God seems to give me the most grace during that drive to work! I've only had one speeding ticket in my life, and that was three years ago. Never mind that I was the only vehicle on a straight rural freeway. I just wonder how many tickets I really deserve! I'm sure most of us would confess that we'd be broke if we had to pay all those fines!

Back to today....I was about a third of the way to work when I noticed that I was second in line of six cars sandwiched together. There was plenty of room in the right lane, but all stayed left. We were pretty tight, yet all going at the same speed so it felt safe. And then I realized that we were no longer acting independently of one another. We had formed this chain on purpose as a means of protection from receiving a citation! The speed of choice was about 72mph, yet there was no way a cop could have squeezed in between any of us to tag us for speeding, except for maybe the last person. What a genius idea!

I kept checking the rearview mirror to see if anyone was going to pass on the right, and for about 15 miles, nobody moved. Suddenly we passed one cop sitting on a side road, hiding behind some trees. I waited for him to make his move, but no action. I could almost hear his exaggerated sigh as he felt the gust from our six-car train sway his police vehicle a bit. The crazy thing was, I felt a tinge of guilt, though overshadowed by this incredible feeling of escape.

Soon I saw these two highway patrol cars zip right past me from out of nowhere! I looked down at the speedometer and noticed I was still at 70mph. The two cops must have been going 75-80! Maybe they grew frustrated at our "snail's pace" that they decided to pass us all!

After that our little caravan broke apart, and I eased back into 65-70, pondering all the silent communication that had taken place over the last 15 minutes. Why should it irk me that a cop feels he doesn't need to keep the law, but that we have to always stress over it, always have to avoid getting caught? The problem was, I had just cooperated with five other people in order to stretch the law! No, to break the law -- to participate in a crime! I am an individually responsible citizen, and that excuse surely won't go over if I ever do get pulled over again!

This happens on the road all the time. Today I just noticed it. The point is, I can't go with the flow just because the next man does, or even because I sense people riding my tail in order to force me to speed. Speeding breaks the law, end of story. But I do it and will probably do it again, just to save a precious 5 minutes on the road. All for nothing, really. And the scary part is, that mentality most likely spills over into other areas of my life as well. 'Maybe God will offer more lenience since everybody does it. Or maybe it's not so bad after all.'

At times I catch myself drowning in these thoughts. Other times I don't. It's those times of guiltlessness that should worry me. "The heart is [indeed] deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

Search me O God!