In my humble opinion, Christianity is not a religion. I mean, in the classical sense of the word, sure, it is a religion. But what I have recently come to realize is that Christianity—my faith—is a way of life. Do you see it that way? Let me tell you why I don’t believe most people agree with me. And it is tied directly to the way we (as a society) drive our automobiles.
First, though, let’s look at some statistics (all the math geeks like me cheer—yeah!). According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2014, more than 70% of Americans (70.8% to be exact) identify themselves as Christians. Just seven years ago, some 78% of Americans identified themselves as Christians. Maybe in some future post I’ll dive into why we are seeing such a decline. But for now, just note that a significant portion of people in this country are still Christians.
Second, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey from 2011, the average commute to and from work in the United States is roughly 51 minutes. Given the chores, shopping, and whatnot that we also do, let’s say the average driver spends one hour per day (every day) in their car. Obviously, since this is an average, some will spend more while others will spend less.
Further let’s assume these same drivers average seven hours per sleep each day/night. That means they spend one out of their 17 “active” hours in the car each day. That is roughly 6% of their day (for us math geeks it is exactly 5.882% of their day). It’s not a huge amount of time on a percentage basis, mind you, but I think it is significant. Here’s why…
Most drivers spend that hour each day by themselves. It’s where we are alone with our thoughts, our feelings. Yes, we may prefer the distractions of the radio or some other device. Nonetheless, we are free to be “ourselves,” even if we have loved ones with us. We sing along to our favorite songs; we pick our noses; we put on make-up (at stoplights only, I hope). We think no one is watching us. We are at home.
So, if we are Christians and as Christians we are consistently reminded that we are to imitate Jesus and/or love our neighbor, why do we treat other drivers with such disrespect??
Why do some of us tailgate the person who is driving “too slow”? Why do we speed up in heavy traffic to keep someone from getting in front of us? Why do occasionally drive like a maniac thru congested traffic when we are in a hurry? Why do some of us stay in the fast lane even though we aren’t passing anyone? Yes, to me, the slow driver and the tailgater are one in the same.
I am typing this on Sunday afternoon, after enjoying Mass at my parish this morning. However, this topic has been on my mind for quite some time. When I came to the realization (thanks to Dynamic Catholic and Matthew Kelly) that my faith is more than just receiving the Eucharist, I began to see that Jesus is calling me to more than just the sacraments and prayer. He is asking us to be a reflection of Him in all that we do.
Granted, that call is difficult—extremely difficult. I personally have many more aspects of my life where I need to improve. But the least I can do (we can do) is to try to be a little less hypocritical when I am on the road. No more riding the bumper of the slow driver. No more speeding up to keep someone from changing lanes in front of me. Instead, I am trying to treat every driver with the respect that all children of God deserve. Besides, if I am that worried about being late, then I should have left earlier or called/texted that I might be a bit late.
So when you hit the road tomorrow morning, pretend that Jesus is sitting with you. Drive with more compassion. Who knows, maybe this change will spread to other parts of your life (like it has for me) and we can start enhancing our society one commute at a time.