Spiritual Speeders
When my two older children were in college, my wife and I took a road trip from New England to South Carolina to visit them. Somehow we managed to avoid all the typical road construction and rush hour traffic. We made great time and it was an enjoyable road trip, with one frightening exception. As we neared Charlotte, North Carolina, we came up on a lengthy line of traffic due to a major accident involving a tractor trailer. Traffic was backed up for miles and because there was also a lot of construction in that area, several exit ramps were closed. We had no choice but sit in traffic for over an hour waiting to get by. During our wait, several fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and state troopers passed us on the shoulder of the highway to get to the scene. As we listened to the news on the radio and waited to get through the traffic jam, we learned there were multiple fatalities. It was one of the worst accidents we had ever heard of.
The line of traffic eventually shifted to the far lane to give the emergency vehicles room to work. As we approached the actual scene of the incident, an SUV flew down the highway, passed the line of traffic, and narrowly avoided hitting the emergency vehicles as it flew past the scene. A few miles down the road, the driver was stopped by state police and arrested for “reckless endangerment of emergency personnel”. In an interview a few days later, the driver said he was in a hurry and just didn’t want to wait in traffic anymore. He seemed unconcerned about anything other than himself. I’ve never forgotten that frightening moment when he flew past us on the road, or the selfish attitude he displayed during the TV interview. Several people’s lives were wrecked that day, some people’s lives ended, but none of that concerned him, he had somewhere to be and was going to get there, no matter what.
Sadly, too many of us are just like that SUV driver. People all around us have slid off the road of life and need serious help. People all around are spiritual fatalities with no hope for eternity apart from Christ. But in the rush to do everything we want to do, we often pass by those who need help the most. We don’t even see people mired in such difficulty and trouble. We just keep flying by like spiritual speeders too busy to help. They narrowly miss striking those few Christians who are responding to needs around them. We become spiritual speeders cruising past the very situations God calls us to address.
In the past couple of years, as I have had to navigate challenges in my own life, I’ve learned to slow down. I’ve learned the value of spending more time praying. I learned the value of spending more time listening. I learned the value of spending more time helping others. I don’t want to be a spiritual speeder, so focused on self that I miss the very moments God has placed me here for. What about you? How are you learning to slow down during crisis moments and care for others?
Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves as the executive director of the Baptist Churches of New England.