How's my driving?

I have spent a lot of time during the past few weeks driving up and down the motorways of Britain. This has given me a lot of time to reflect, and the next couple of blogs will have a ‘motorway’ theme!

Lorries and white vans are regarded by many motorists to be a menace, and often are. Occasionally you see one with a sign on the back that says ‘How am I driving?’, and gives a number to phone with feedback. It’s one way that companies can encourage their staff to drive safely. I don’t know if they get much feedback (positive or negative), and I’ve never called myself. It’s the ones without a phone number that I would like to call!

Anyway, it has made me ponder what I consider to be the worst driving offences, and I quickly compiled in my head a list of the most common. I wonder if you agree with me?

(1) Hogging the centre lane on motorways when the inside lane is clear for miles (not literally).
(2) Tailgating. Everyone hates it, but why do so many do it?
(3) Undertaking, that is overtaking on the inside. Increasingly common and still dangerous.
(4) Parking in disabled bays at motorway services when obviously fit, healthy and usually young.
(5) Driving on roundabouts without any kind of signalling. Are we supposed to guess?
(6) Driving on roundabouts without any kind of signalling whilst talking on the phone.
(7) Lorries that overtake other lorries on hills whilst travelling at only 1mph more.

I could go on, of course, but I don’t want to appear to be a grumpy old man...

Anyway, my meditation was not all negative. I began to think, what if Christian people had to wear a sign saying ‘How am I living?’, together with a number to call for feedback. That would be a challenge wouldn’t it?
Our lives are meant to be living epistles, known and read by all, but what do they say? Do we get into bad ways of behaving and speaking that annoy and irritate others and are a bad witness to our faith?

The apostle Paul recognised the power of a person’s life. He not only sought to set a good example himself, but encouraged his young disciple Timothy to do the same: ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and purity.’ (1Timothy 4:12)

There are five crucial areas of life:
Speech - how is my conversation?
Life - how is my behaviour?
Love - how is my concern for others?
Faith - how is my trust in God?
Purity - how is my thought life?

We are invited to examine our own lives and to reflect on our own behaviour, correcting anything that is amiss. But what if we invited a trusted friend, who knew us well and had our best interests at heart, to give us feedback and to hold us accountable in these five areas? Would our living improve?

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

And by the way, if you see me on the motorway, the number is ......