Heaven on Wheels

Principles of Christian Driving Psychology

by Leon James
(c) 2000

Synopsis

Introduction: Driving Psychology out of the New Testament

Chapter 1: Highway Babylon

Chapter 2: The King’s Highway—Where we are going

Chapter 3: Principles of Christian Driving Psychology

Synopsis

Driving Psychology out of the New Testament

Traffic rage, road rage, aggressive driving -- Highway Babylon -- is a spiritual crisis of our generation. Christians need to sanctify their driving. The Lord cares about how we treat our highway neighbor. We need to understand how driving is related to the Gospels.

A Driver's Conversations with an Angel of the Lord

Sunday School Activities for Building Christian Road Morality

Facts & Stats About Driving

Prayers Behind the Wheel

Activities in Cars for Christian Children

Meditation and Discussion Topics on Driving

Recommended Readings

See the Bookstore items.

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Introduction: Driving Psychology out of the New Testament

Chapter 1: Highway Babylon

A Driver’s Conversation with an Angel of the Lord: Part 1

Chapter 2: The King’s Highway—Where we are going

Inner Power Tools for the Smart Christian Driver

Activities in Cars

A Driver’s Conversation with an Angel of the Lord: Part 2

Chapter 3: Principles of Christian Driving Psychology

Activities for Driving Self-improvement

Self-Assessment as a Driver: The Christian Driving Log

The Nine Zones of Your Driving Personality

Sunday School Activities

Meditation and Discussion Topics

A Driver’s Conversation With an Angel of the Lord: Part 3

Introduction: Driving Psychology out of the New Testament

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion (Psalms 137:1).

As we stand poised on the threshold of the third millennium of our Lord's era, a new spiritual plague has come to besiege the earth: It is known by various phrases: road rage, traffic rage, driving rage, aggressive driving, driving under the influence, reckless driving, urgent driving, and so on. These forms of impaired driving, whether chemically or psychologically induced, kill thousands of people every year on a global scale. In the United States during any year, about 177 million drivers crash into each other 6 million times killing over 40,000 people and seriously injuring over a quarter of million men, women and children. Similar figures apply for the year before, and the year before, and before for several decades. And it will be the same next year, and the year after that, and the year after that--unless we gather the spiritual energy to overcome this social plague.

Polls around the country indicate that people are scared of the highway. The daily commute home for hundreds of millions of people around the globe has become a risky, scary, unmerciful daily stress they must endure. Some people feel it’s a hell hole. Others feel that it’s a miracle they’ve escaped this time. Millions pray before they engage the highway. Who are these drivers who are so hostile that they have turned driving into such a mean activity? Who are these risk-loving drivers who are so dangerous that they kill more people than wars kill our soldiers? The majority of them are Christians.

The fact is that in our society as a whole, made up of essential minorities as it is, Christians still outnumber non-Christians by far. And so we must look to Christians for a solution to traffic rage and aggressive driving. It is mostly Christians who kill each other in the Unites States at the rate of 40,000 every year, and it is mostly Christian drivers who injure each other 6 million times a year. This is far more than the Christians who kill or injure each other in most other countries, including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, or Spain, Lebanon, or other places were wars are going on.

Of course, the motive for these highway killings is not at all the same as that of civil wars and terrorism, and this makes a huge difference. True. Still, experts estimate that the majority of these highway injuries and killings could be avoided if the drivers became less aggressive and more supportive of one another. In other words, these are Christians who unnecessarily kill and maim each other solely because they continue to drive aggressively or poorly due to impatience, selfishness, intolerance, and hatred.

So now the question of the hour for every Christian driver today is, Do I care? Yes, No. Do I care if I frighten the other driver by tailgating or lane hopping or going through red traffic lights? Yes, No. Do I care if I break the law of the land and the law of civilized humanity by drinking and then driving in an impaired state? Yes, No. Do I care if I feel no compassion for other drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians? Yes, No. Is my ‘Christian-ness’ itself at stake in how I drive? Yes, No.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion  (Luke 10:33).

Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.  For narrow is the gate, and straitened the
way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it.  (Matthew 7: 13-14)

The straight and narrow path for Christian drivers is the way of compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, long suffering, ready to be the Good Samaritan through random acts of kindness to other road users, always striving for driver excellence and lifelong self-improvement for the sake of country and Heaven.

America is poised on the second century of car society and we Christians, being the vast majority of drivers in this country, must carry the burden of healing the nation from the spiritual plague of aggressive driving. Already our house stands divided, some of us calling for more law enforcement, more surveillance cameras, more radar and vascars and speed traps and special ‘aggressive’ driving enforcement initiatives by local police and citizen activists. Others don’t like this trend and see it as a threat not only to privacy and convenience, but to fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. And still others have offered psychotherapy and anger management clinics. These are reviewed in my other book.

But these are all secular solutions while Christians need a Biblical solution since the root of the problem lies in the driver’s character and will, hence heart and spirit. Our thesis is that traffic rage, or aggressive driving, is a spiritual syndrome and since it’s happening to Christians, a Christian Bible-based doctrinal approach must be formulated as a permanent solution to this global problem. This book is meant to be a handbook of Christian Driving Psychology. Christian drivers and their families will now have an authoritative and scientific doctrine for traffic behavior, fully grounded in and inspired by the New Testament.

It’s especially of concern to all of us that we Christians are now breeding the next generation of aggressive drivers and traffic ragers. Our children are not just passive passengers, but are actively imbibing our driving style, our attitude of hostility and callousness, our cursing and swearing, and the indignities with which we treat one another in cars and on roads. No sooner do teenagers get that license at 15 or 16 and sit behind the wheel, on their own, that they spew out all that they have imbibed as children. All Christians would want to stop this negative and awful generational transmission. We don’t want to continue doing this to our children!

And He called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me: But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18: 2-6)

Until now no book or doctrine has existed to give Christians the intellectual and scientific power to alter this unhealthy feature of car society. With this book, we hope to provide the impetus for Christians everywhere to take up the helmet of faith and the breastplate of charity, and thus prepared in the Lord, to step forth into spiritual combat in our vehicles on our highways, and to battle on to defeat the enemy that has gotten a foothold in the heart of Christians--hostility and hatred towards other road users, disrespect for legitimate authority, and disdain for official safety regulations. These behaviors and attitudes behind the wheel violate the Lord’s commandments that we should love and forgive one another, and that we should respect legitimate state authority.

This evil epidemic requires Divine intervention and power to stop. And the Lord has given us this Divine power through the New Testament. Therefore in this book, as a solution to traffic rage, we turn first to the sacred New Testament, and second, to the science of psychology.

Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.   (John 10: 7-9)

Christians need driving psychology doctrine as a personal management tool for behavior self-modification as a driver. There is no legitimate reason for Christians to be deprived of behavioral psychology principles when these principles are consistently related to what the Lord teaches us in the New Testament. As Christians and as psychologists and social scientists, we are blessed by the Lord with the intellectual tools to fashion a Christian Driving Psychology that is behavioral and objective, and benefiting from the latest contemporary scientific findings. We have more than forty years of experience in scientific and scholarly investigations. We feel obligated by our Christian-ness and rationality, thus integrity, not to keep our scientific expertise apart from our spiritual doctrine. In this book, we unite our faith and our scientific expertise, even as we are striving to do this in our daily lives, praying to the Lord for strength and capacity.

There are nearly one billion Christians alive on this earth today. Though they belong to various denominations, differing in cultural styles and doctrinal concepts, there is one basic and inmost idea that unites them all into a single community of saints. All Christians acknowledge the Bible as the Word of God because Jesus Christ did so when He walked on this earth. All Christians acknowledge that the Word of God was given through revelation for the purpose of teaching us how to live in order to be able to dwell in the presence of the Lord. The Lord Himself taught that the essential of the Word is contained in the Commandments and that these teach how we must live in order to dwell with Him and in Him.

All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 5:19)

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And He said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.  (Matthew 22: 36-40)

And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? none is good, save one, even God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. (Luke 18: 18-20)

All the commandments can be summarized in the Lord's Two Great Commandments (Mark 12: 39-41). We must love the Lord and we must love the neighbor. If we fail to perform these two commandments, we fail the Lord, and we fail our faith, our charity, our salvation. In this book, we apply the essential truth of the Lord's commandments to our thoughts and actions in traffic. There is no ‘time out’ in the eyes of the Lord. His presence is constant. It is our own response to Him that is inadequate when we fail to hate what He hates: and that is, the spirit of the anti-Christ buried in the heart of Christian drivers and causing the highway carnage every day and every hour of the day.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.  (Revelation 3:20)

In these chapters, you will find a Christian Bible-based applied theology of driving. The Christian needs a powerful and truthful sacred rhetoric by which to oppose the cultural practices of aggressive driving and emotional violence. The moral rearmament of Christian drivers needs a doctrinal basis that they can understand and agree with, and also grow by. In the New Testament, the Lord has given us the psychological rhetoric that we need to be able to oppose the social evils within ourselves that destroy the spiritual life of society and corrupts the soul of all its citizens.

He answered and said, And who is He, Lord, that I may believe on Him? Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and He it is that speaketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him.  (John 9: 36-38)

This book provides Christians with the spiritual power tools that the Lord has given us in the New Testament. Using only the Lord's direct teachings, we show how they apply to our thoughts and intentions behind the wheel. Years of experience with research and teaching has given us the knowledge of analyzing the thoughts and feelings that drivers have in traffic, and how these internal activities connect with the Lord's commandments.

Through study of driving psychology principles, and through various activities while driving, we show readers how our acts and intentions as drivers can be continuously purified from anger and pride using the Word of God to transform ourselves. The Christian quest for road peace will transform the killing roads into a King’s Highway.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.   (Isaiah13:19).

The social crisis of road rage actually provides Christians with a great spiritual opportunity to ‘Christianize’ the highway by imbuing our minds with Christian driving rules from the New Testament. Our entire nation will become stronger and more united in all walks of life, not just on the highway. We can be spiritual models in the world even as we are economic and industrial leaders that benefit all the countries. By becoming Christian in our driving, we are growing stronger as Americans and we are strengthening the bonds that tie us to our Constitution. In short, we are protecting the family and our children from spiritual as well as physical breakdown.

No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, putteth it in a cellar, neither under the bushel, but on the stand, that they which enter in may see the light.  (Luke 11:33)

I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 10:28and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:14; 27-28)

Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;   forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:  and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.   And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.  (Colossians 3: 12-17)

Christians have a unique contribution to make to our driving problem in this country, and indeed around the globe. We can lead the transformation of Highway Babylon into The King’s Highway. People around the globe will say, America’s Christians are true to their religion as drivers because they turn the other cheek when struck, as commanded them by their Messiah. People will say, "The drivers in America, who are mostly Christians, are the only drivers in the world who are not aggressive and competitive. They are supportive drivers, sharing opportunities to get ahead and caring for one another. No one is left behind intentionally, if by some relapse someone gets shafted, insulted, or denigrated by someone else, the latter immediately regrets it, feels guilt and shame, repents and asks the Lord for forgiveness, and quickly makes up for it by being extra nice, extra careful and compassionate to others. O, how altruistic! O, how wise and loving! O, let us follow the Christians, let us be supportive drivers too. Our God will reward us for it."

Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5: 14-16)

Fellow Christians, do you enjoy that futuristic projection of The King’s Highway, now coming to us in our hearts and spirit and mind? This is a special historical moment for our religion, and for the universe. Poised upon the third millennium of our Lord’s era and the second century of car society, Christians are given to feel this psycho-biological and spiritual crossing point in humanity’s history and development. The Holy Spirit is active within us to the extent of our willing cooperation in our sanctification process, thus in our spiritual growth and character reformation, transformation, and regeneration.

The behavioral arena of driving is a special and sacred opportunity offered to us by the Lord. We must understand the nature of the psychological resistance we offer to our sanctification. Christian driving psychology gives us this understanding because, first, it is a collection of New Testament verses arranged in an order to create a Gospel Driving Doctrine. This doctrine must be taken cognizance of and adopted as our guiding principle to replace the current secular driving philosophy we have from highway babylon. And second, Christian driving psychology gives us scientifically engineered inner power tools to help us manage ourselves as drivers.

The outer natural self that actually does most of the driving, must be brought into alignment and obedience with the spiritual inner self. This inner self is where our rational capacities are. Here we can reason in accordance with the Gospel Driving Doctrine we have fashioned for ourselves as a guide to Christian highway use. We can always interact with the Holy Spirit directly through our conscience. Thus we are given the power to live our faith as drivers and get away from the current lip service approach we have in highway babylon. And by suffering ourselves to undergo this character transformation as drivers, we gain in all ways imaginable, and beyond that. This affirmation merits elaborating further since it is so hopeful and pleasant.

Yes, we need not be sad on account of the cross we must bear in this radical transformation of our driving personality. At first, Satan wants to discourage us from even attempting anything at all. Dear Christian, as you read this book, do you feel a sense of distaste and even nausea at times, perhaps discouraged at the personal effort that lies ahead? That is our temptation! Our outward natural self feels threatened by this book, even unto death. Yes, it knows that when the Christian in you takes over as manager behind the wheel, it is like Mr. Clean and the terror stricken germs. After all, we know that it is not our own power that overcomes in temptation, for Jesus alone has the power to overcome this world. And so, what power can the devil yield over us? None. Therefore we are confident and sure that our character transformation as drivers can and will take place—if we cooperate willingly in our sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

Everyone can see that if our cooperation were not needed, the Lord would transform everyone in an instant from crazy driver to sane driver. Would He not? He is pure love and pure mercy, and All Powerful. We must think of Him as already doing all that He can, given the restrictions He has imposed on Himself, namely, never to interfere with our spiritual choices. Why is this restriction so important and above all other restrictions? Because without it we cannot be human, or loving, or rational, or wise, hence we cannot be saints in eternity in the Lord in His heaven. If the Lord in His Divine Omnipotence, would utter a Divine command by which all drivers suddenly were rendered incapable of aggressive acts and thoughts, there would no longer be any car crashes and all highway stress and danger would no longer exist. But would those drivers be human? No. They would be robotic automatons activated by God’s mind, not our own. We would not be capable of freely choosing to love God and consciously, as-of-self, work out the details of our lives.

In that sorry world, the Lord would be alone, weeping, because His children are all gone. No, the Lord cannot force us to love Him, but must patiently wait until we agree to it from ourselves, as-if of ourselves, and acknowledging that it is from Him alone. To accomplish this amazing interaction between God and us, we must always believe that all the power comes from the Lord and none comes from ourselves. Yet we must not wait as a stock for inspiration to act. It is our very own personal and unique striving to act from the Lord that constitutes our eternal happiness, joy, and blessedness. It is in this striving that our spiritual life prospers and grows in sanctification. And without this striving, the Lord is shut out and waits patiently, knocking until we open the door to Him, which means, doing His commandments.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  (Matthew 10:16)

Christian Driving Psychology gives the know how for this necessary cooperation between us individually and the Lord. The Lord gives us Christian Driving Psychology through our rational and scientific mind. The Lord wants us to go out and conquer the world and profit from all that He has planted in this earthly garden for our benefit. This includes all the orderly pleasures and fun of everyday life that we have access to through culture, society, community, and family life. If the principles and activities in this book seem too hard or not worth it, think again, friend. Do not let the devil have the upper hand in your temptations. Think of all the benefits you can experience.

As a Christian driver on The King’s Highway you are cruising along in a restful mental state, alert and confident. You are happy and grateful. You feel friendship and community towards the drivers around you. You look on them with favor, pleasantly, because you are pleased to see them, to see them progressing safely, and you wish them well. You feel free in your emotions. You are not subject to the awful law of talons, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, insult for an insult, retaliation for attack. You are Christian, through and through, outside and inside. Like Peter, you finally suffered yourself to allow the Lord of the universe to wash your feet. You have bathed all over by suffering yourself to do the work of transformation from aggressive to tame driver. That was your morality for the sake of your spirituality and religion. You are a sanctified driver.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto Me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25: 40-41, 45-46)

Turn back, O man, forswear thy foolish ways. Christ for the world we sing! The world to Christ we bring, with one accord; With us the work to share, With us reproach to dare, With us the cross to bear, For Christ our Lord. (Christian song)

Selection from Chapter 1

As social scientists interested in the driver-car-road ecosystem, we have studied the thoughts and feelings of drivers for many years, not just our own, but those of hundreds of drivers, Christian drivers, and non-Christian. For instance, in our Internet Road Rage Survey on the Web, 94% of American and Canadian drivers admit they engage in aggressive driving behaviors such as driving over the speed limit, going through a red light, ignoring stop signs, changing lanes without signaling, preventing another driver from entering your lane, yelling and making obscene gestures. The majority of drivers admit to swearing, cussing, cursing, insulting, and enjoying fantasies of violence, punishment, retaliation, or torture. About one in four drivers admit to hostile and aggressive acts such as cutting off to retaliate, tailgating dangerously, braking suddenly to punish a tailgater, revving the engine, or chasing another car and threatening physical violence. We know that at least 80% of the national sample includes Christians of all denominations. It is clear therefore, that the majority of Christians are aggressive in their driving at times, and some people, nearly all the time.

Dear DrDriving,

During the holidays a friend of mine was taken victim to an incident of road rage and was killed in the process. He was parking in a space when a group of males in another car decided they didn't want to wait around for their own car space so they decided to impinge on my friend’s space. When the group realized that he was not going to let them just have the spot they decided to take the issue way too far. They got out of their car, pulled my friend out of his car bashed him until he was unconscious and then put him in their car. After this the group drove off, proceeded to a speed of 120 kms and then threw my friend from the car onto the road. My friend hit his head on the road, smashing it open and later died.

I have never realized the true extent of what happens in road rage. Naively I assumed that road rage was abuse being yelled between cars, people getting followed, getting the finger, and having the occasional fight. But the fact that people are getting murdered over things like a parking spot is unbelievable and terribly horrific.

Looking up road rage on the net has shown me that some people seem to take the approach that road rage is a light hearted matter. That pulling over and abusing people is okay sometimes, that hitting or bashing someone because of their conflicting ability to drive to their own is in someway acceptable. These people really should stop taking this matter as amusing or minor. This is a very serious matter. People are getting killed for the sake of parking their car, for driving 5 kms under the speed limit when you’re in a hurry, and for making a mistake on their way to wherever they are going.

A frightened traveler

This is Highway Babylon. The Christian’s disregard of Christ’s Commandments. Friends, we have discovered within ourselves a cultural conspiracy kept alive by the spirit of anti-Christ. We have imbibed this anti-Christian philosophy of driving through our socialization process. Just look around you and you’ll see how we are currently training our children to grow up to become the next wave of Highway Babylon. Look at our own history, yours and ours. As infants we sat and rode in our parents’ cars, witnessing their impatience and hostile attitude towards other drivers.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)

Growing up as Christians children, we are not allowed to swear and were punished with disapproval and a reprimand whenever we forgot the rules. But no sooner did we enter our parents’ cars, the rules seemed to change, to be turned upside down. Christ-loyalty suddenly turned into Babylon compulsion. The traffic Dragon suddenly roared its ugly mean head and took over our head, even as our Christian spirit sank into our seat. No longer compassion, but retaliation. No longer forgiveness, but condemnation and the desire to punish. No longer the spirit of communion, but the spirit of envious competition, intolerance, hatred and vengeance.

Dear DrDriving:

Hello, my name is Jane. I have found myself to be very concerned in the manner in which I drive every minute, every day now. My brother, Robert of Champaign, IL was involved with road rage on July 3, 1997, during morning rush hour. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years in prison. He had caused an incident on the highway that morning that resulted in the death of a 40-year old woman. She panicked when my brother slammed his brakes on in front of her, causing her to lose control of her vehicle and cross the grass median. She was ejected from her vehicle (not wearing seatbelt, nonetheless) and killed.

I know that people feel rage every day on the roads, and it scares me to death. I fear for my children and family, as people drive on our roads with no respect for their fellow man, let alone for themselves. I know that what my brother did was wrong. It sure has taught me an important lesson. I wish that the police, state patrol, etc., would start to toughen up on people that are inconsiderate when driving. I wanted to let you know how I was feeling. Thank you.

For years we sat in our parents cars and imbibed the adulterous philosophy of aggressive driving. No sooner that society gives us the privilege to drive, no sooner that we lower our prideful selves into the car seat and grab the wheel with both hands, licensed at last, we turn into one of those dragons that make the life of highway babylon. We become the very image of the Beast as we model our driving style according to what we witness dozens of times every day on TV—drivers behaving badly, and glorifying in it.

Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand (Matthew 7:24, 26)

Licensed to kill. Every year between 40,000 and 50,000 Christian drivers kill each other on highway babylon in the U.S. We crash into each other 6 million times a year and then we spend 200 billion dollars to pay for the yearly monetary consequences. Of course, the pain and suffering, and the anguish and unhappiness, are not included in these figures. Obviously, with 60 million crashes every ten years, considering only the effect upon the immediate family, more than 200 million Americans are negatively affected in a direct way by highway babylon. That’s the un-Godly situation that we are addressing in this book.

We have a Christian answer to traffic rage and highway intemperance and madness.

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:29)

And it starts with the center of our faith. Fellow Christians, we have had to start with this Bible-based principle: to examine ourselves in traffic through the objective lenses of self-witnessing behind the wheel. We had to look at our thoughts, at our feelings, and our overt actions—as reflections of our personality and character. We had to accept the idea that driving is made up of a sequence of operations we perform mentally, physically, and spiritually.

For instance, the average daily commute for the majority of Americans is 28 minutes (sure feels like it’s more, does'nt’t it?). During this short half-hour, twice a day, five times a week, we engage in several hundred mini-encounters every week, and thousands of mini-exchanges with other drivers every year. We started with a basic and simple question: how many of these mini-exchanges are loving and how many are hateful?

We started carrying a tape recorder in the car and made ourselves speak our thoughts out loud as we were driving. It’s an awkward thing to do and we experienced resistance and discouragement, embarrassment and rebellion. Yet by praying to the Lord and asking for strength to continue, we accumulated such tapes from hundreds of drivers. We each analyzed our own tapes, as well as listened to the tapes of others, and read their analyses.

The proof was obvious and conclusive. With few exceptions, all drivers participate in the destructive spirit of highway babylon. It’s a cultural phenomenon, and a direct and dangerous attack on our Christian future as a society. At this very moment, we are training the next generation of highway babylon, as we drive them around in traffic, cursing and swearing at other drivers, and breaking and violating the laws of the land, ignoring human rights and the spirit of dignity enjoined upon us by our blessed Constitution.

Jesus said unto her, I Am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth on Me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I have believed that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, even He that cometh into the world. (John 11: 25-27)

A Family Activity: How to Neutralize Media Portrayals of Drivers Behaving Badly

Jehovah shall cover thee under His wings. (Psalms. 91:4).

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings. (Psalms. 17:8).

How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. (Psalms. 36:7).

Unto you shall be healing in His wings. (Malachi. 4:2).

As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, That fluttereth over her young, He spread abroad His wings, He took them, He bare them on His pinions. Jehovah alone did lead Him, And there was no foreign god with Him. (Deuteronomy. 32:11, 12).

Jesus said, O Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. (Matthew. 23:37; Luke 13:34).

1. Discuss this project with your entire family and enlist everybody’s help. Explain that the purpose is to create a list of television shows that portray scenes of drivers behaving badly—movies, sit-coms, cartoons, commercials, videotapes. If you like, you can also include electronic games as well as books and magazines.

2. You need to write down the following specific information about each episode you witness:

• date
• time
• channel/network
• name of program
• type of program (e.g., car commercial, other commercial, cartoon for young kids, scene in a movie or serial, etc.).
• a specific description of the bad driving behavior

6. Have a family group discussion and talk about each observation in terms of how it might influence the driving attitude, style, and morality of the children and drivers who are exposed to such scenes over and over again for several years.

7. Parents and older children can discuss how these media portrayals of drivers behaving badly could have influenced their own driving style.

8. Discuss how you can improve this activity and share it with other families. One activity that goes a little further is to develop a rating scale that would give you an overall score for each show. Here is an example:

Prominence throughout the course of the program, how much importance and emphasis the scene had.

How realistic was the scene, is it something that could be easily reproduced by people who watched it.

Danger involved, did the sequence pose a threat to the driver or other vehicles, drivers or pedestrians.

The rating for each category goes from 1 (very mild form) to 10 (very intense form). You can assign a weighting scheme that you deem appropriate. One way is to give a maximum number of points to each category:

Prominence 0-3

Realistic nature 0-3

Danger Involved 0-4

Total possible10

Here is an example in which this DBB rating scheme was used:

Program: The Mighty Ducks

Day: Tuesday

Date: 10/14/97

Time: 7:30 am

Channel: 5 - KFVE

Description of Events

The Mighty Ducks are driving in their All-Terrain Vehicle down a street when they encountered a nemesis who is looking to cause some trouble. The program itself was half and hour and this scene took up approximately a minute and forty seconds. In the list of behaviors, car A will be the Mighty Ducks (the good guys) and car B will be the nemesis.

Specific Behaviors

• Car A travels down the middle of the road instead of staying in the proper lane.
• The bad guy in car B approaches car A head on in the middle of the road and begins firing a gun that is attached to the roof of his car.
• Car A pulls a U-turn in the middle of the road, goes into "assault mode" and begins returning fire to car B.
• Car A and B sideswipe each other, but both keep driving.
• Car B shoots car A with a laser and sends it flying into a building where debris begins to fall on it.
• One of the passengers from car A jumps onto car B and drops in a grenade that causes it to explode in the middle of the road.

Analysis and Evaluation

Absolutely no concern is expressed for other drivers or pedestrians that may be in the surrounding area by either the good guys or the bad guy.

The depiction of scenes where the cars sideswipe each other is very poorly representative of actual car accidents where damage to cars and possible injury to passengers often occurs.

When car A collides with the building and the debris begins to fall on the vehicle, everyone is able to jump out of the car without any injury. This is highly unrealistic and a poor model for how people actually experience real life accidents.

Rating

Prominence: 2

Realistic Nature: 1

Danger Involved: 3

Total score 6

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.. (John 13: 34-35)

Over the past half century of television society, psychologists and educators have come to understand how violence portrayed on TV influences children and adults. The mechanism of transfer is imitation when identifying with the role model. When the conditions give people an opportunity, they are tempted to imitate what they have seen performed by a role model. A common belief has that we have nothing to fear from TV because we all know that it portrays fantasy and drama rather than reality. This belief does not take into account the mechanism of role modeling which goes on with or without the conscious awareness of the individual.

All observant parents can see this effect in their children. Children are copy cats. Children are influenced by what they see. Observe some commercials yourself: even adults have a difficult time telling exactly which part is real and which is fake. When you see driving scenes, it is often difficult to tell whether the actor is actually driving or whether the car is being towed. Nor is it easy to tell when a scene has been edited, cut, or tampered in any way, so that the timing and the sequence appear real but actually are not. Thus, our standard of what’s real has been influenced or confused by our inability to tell on TV what’s real and what’s not.

In one scene we witnessed today (Goodburger), a lunch wagon truck was racing through town causing all sorts of crashes. The driver and his companion were both teenagers and they showed no care or remorse for the havoc they were causing. Instead, they were gleeful. A delivery truck was behind them, trying to keep up and investigate. The two teenagers driving the lunch wagon truck started throwing food and drinks out of the car so that it all seemed to splatter on the pursuing truck's windshield. Along with throwing, the teenagers were laughing and partying and wanting to increase their mayhem. The delivery truck now had its windshield totally covered with food, yet it kept driving.

Look at the children’s faces who are watching these scenes, and look at the adults’ faces. What do you see? Smiles, cheers, amusement, excitement. Not concern, not shock, not dismay, not disapproval. It’s naïve to see this powerful psychological involvement and then expect no influence. Both children and adults imbibe these scenes and the fun and excitement they experience stamps it into their affective mind, where it lurks near the heart, weakening the spirit. Conscience is weakened. Resolve to be good is weakened. Reality parameters are made fusize="3y. Standards are overstepped and made acceptable in some ways. Additional discussion on DBB ratings may be found here.

A Driver's Conversation with an Angel of the Lord: Part 1

So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13: 49-50)

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Matthew 7: 1-5).

I was considering these points and wondering whether I was a Christian driver or not. I was feeling very annoyed at the traffic. This red light is so long for some strange reason. Maybe it's the pedestrians. I felt my teeth gritting against each other. Suddenly an Angel of the Lord was sitting on the passenger seat and I was frozen with surprise and awe. My mouth was open and I could not speak. He spoke with a musical tone in perfect American English.

"Cactus Tree, you better get moving. The people behind you are getting very anxious."

Then I heard the honking and I realized I had been hearing the honking for quite some time. My automatic self sprang into motion and drove the car for me. I let it take over. My conscious mind was busize="3ing with too many threads for me to disentangle any one of them. I knew he was an Angel of the Lord. I knew internally. It was an amazing experience. I just saw it in my mind's eye, or in spiritual light. And I hear myself say to him:

"Why did you call me Cactus Tree?"

"Because that's what I see when I look at you. In the spiritual world people appear to each other according to their inner nature or character, and when I approached you I saw you as a cactus tree, a desert plant surrounded by sand, rocks, scorpions, and heat without moisture, yet inside of you I could see moisture, water, sweetness, and playfulness, like jelly when it is shaken."

I was astounded, hardly knowing what to do with these analogies. I put aside so I can think about it later. Right now I wanted to know what this supernatural visit meant. Why me? Why now? The Angel of the Lord seemed to know my questions and proceeded to answer me.

"I was taking my daily walk in my garden adjacent to my house in which I live with my beloved wife, and lo, I saw you down below, in your car and I wished that I could come to you and comfort you. As soon as I begged the Lord to grant me the wish, I found myself sitting in your car next to you."

I did not answer. I was busy thinking to myself. That's it? Could it be that simple? This is not some historical earth-shattering event in which I was chosen to play a central role. No. This is just some angel somewhere in the universe who happened to see me in his meditations and was granted the wish to be here. What kind of an angel story is that? Besides aren't things supposed to be angelic when angels appear? How come I'm still in a lousy mood. How come this stupid traffic is getting slower instead of faster? How come this idiot ahead of me is not closing the gap? How come it has to rain so it slows things down even more, especially these Sunday drivers who don't know their skids from their lids...Ha, ha, ha.

"I see that you use the expression 'Sunday drivers.' When you thought of the word Sunday my mind was filled with brilliant light on account of the fact that Sunday is the Lord's Day, and when we think of the Lord, light fills us from our core outward. But it also saddens me to see that you use that sacred word to belittle and denigrate the drivers that your will does not favor. On account of that discrimination in your will, your spirit is filled with a dark cloud that absorbs the light of Heaven, and your mind is shut to rationality and truth. It is then filled with irrationality and falsities."

While the Angel of the Lord was speaking to me I was able to see the truth of what he was saying. I saw it in clear light, from within. My mind's inner eye received the light to see it. But when he stopped talking I seemed to return to the exact point I was before--feeling lousy and mean and wanting to do something dangerous. Damn, damn, I thought to myself, I'm going to miss my exit ramp. I forced my way into the right lane. The driver behind me had to brake sharply to avoid hitting me. I was gritting my teeth, trying not to say out loud what I actually felt on account of the Angel. I looked over to side again, astonished. The Angel had vanished!

I felt remorseful, ashamed. How could I swear right in front of the Angel of the Lord! I asked forgiveness and the suddenly the angel was back.

e-mail Dr. James

Selections  from Chapter 2

The Trigger Theory of Anger: Convenient Fiction

A University of Michigan study found that women tend to choose distraction to cope with anger, while men choose rumination and distraction equally. Evidence indicates that dwelling on anger increases its intensity, while distraction reduces it. Experts now believe that anger is as much of a risk for heart disease, in both sexes, as cholesterol, smoking, or high blood pressure. Aggressiveness is a response to the feeling of loss of power. The aggressor actually feels like the victim, feels justified in retaliating, and uses physical and verbal retaliation as a means to restore the self-pride or dignity that was 'robbed' by the other person's 'stupid' or 'inconsiderate' behavior. However, this is a short-term physiological relief, while in the long run, the opposite is in fact the case. The aggressor's conscience inwardly convicts, and the aggressor feels guilt, remorse, or 'out of control.'

Many people believe in the trigger-theory of anger which sees traffic ragers as maladjusted individuals who need therapy to help them manage their intense anti-social emotions. For this reason, anger management therapies and stress control programs have been around for decades for those who can afford psychotherapy. However, applying this psychotherapeutic approach to drivers in general will have limited success because traffic rage is a generic, cultural problem and not an individual mental problem.

The problem is not so much the presence of anger itself, but uninhibited aggressiveness. Our cultural norms permit the expression of hostility among drivers. This became clear when we analyzed the self-witnessing reports of many drivers. They felt justified in their traffic rage. They were proud of their aggressiveness. There was hardly any recognition of unfairness or consciousness of wrong doing. For example, in a general poll, less than 1 in 4 individuals believed that tailgating is a moral issue!

The fuel that drives aggressiveness on the road is the false assumption that it's the action of the other driver that makes us hostile, that triggers our aggressive response. But the offending act does not automatically trigger the aggressive response, it merely creates an opportunity for an attack in order to express righteous indignation.

If other drivers were the trigger, you'd have no choice but to be aggressive every time something goes wrong. Yet this isn't what happens. Drivers only retaliate sometimes, not every time. Some drivers never retaliate overtly, though they want to. For Christians, 'wanting to retaliate' is a spiritual temptation that hurts us when we stop disapproving of it. Merely having the feeling of anger and the desire to retaliate is not itself a sin of which we're guilty because it is our inherited nature as creatures of earth, as well as our acquired nature by growing up in this society. The guilt or spiritual damage to ourselves starts when we choose to approve of it.

To approve of our desire to retaliate is spiritually corrupting and puts dark clouds between ourselves and the Lord who stands at our door, waiting for us to reject our aggressiveness and desire to retaliate. The Lord's nature is meek and our harshness keeps meekness out.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I Am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29)

Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. (Matthew 21:5)

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. (Revelation 5:8)

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:13)

The harshness and heartlessness of retaliation is the old law that was necessary for savage hearts, the very mentality that Christ came to reject and overcome:

I Am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in Me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die (John 11:25, 26).

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5: 38-39)

So also will My heavenly Father do unto you, if ye from the heart forgive not every one his brother their trespasses (Matthew 18:35).

The recognition that we are responsible for our aggressive reactions is both spiritual and secular. In 1997 safety officials and government and citizen activists, have officially switched from the word "accident" to "crash." The rest of the population is still catching up to this new word usage. But it's not merely a name switch-it's a totally new confession. By using "crash" instead of "accident" we are now making an about turn in society. "Accident" was used throughout the first century of car society, but "crash" begins the second century, and the third millennium. By using it you're making the affirmation that when a motor vehicle causes damage or injury, the driver is to be presumed guilty. The presumed guilty driver will then have to prove that in this specific instance, there is no guilt, if indeed there is not. With "accident" one is presumed innocent; with "crash" one is presumed guilty--either one of the drivers, or both.

The Components of Aggressive Driving: Test Yourself Tool Kit

Here is one of the test-yourself inventories we use for drivers who want to change their driving style. By reading the items and how they are organized and scored, you can identify the specific elements that constitute your own aggressive driving. The following 20 items are arranged along a continuum of escalating degrees of hostility experienced by drivers, beginning with relatively milder forms of aggressiveness (step 1) and going all the way to ultimate violence (step 20). How far down the un-Christian road do you sometimes allow yourself to go behind the wheel? The majority of drivers we tested go as far as step 13. How about you?

1. Mentally condemning other drivers.

2. Verbally denigrating other drivers to a passenger in your vehicle.

3. Closing ranks to deny someone entering your lane because you're frustrated or upset.

4. Giving another driver the "stink eye" to show your disapproval.

5. Speeding past another car or revving the engine as a sign of protest.

6. Preventing another driver from passing because you're mad.

7. Tailgating to pressure a driver to go faster or get out of the way.

8. Fantasizing physical violence against another driver.

9. Honking or yelling at someone through the window to indicate displeasure.

10. Making a visible obscene gesture at another driver.

11. Using your car to retaliate by making sudden, threatening maneuvers.

12. Pursuing another car in chase because of a provocation or insult.

13. Getting out of the car and engaging in a verbal dispute, on a street or parking lot.

14. Carrying a weapon in the car in case you decide to use it in a driving incident.

15. Deliberately bumping or ramming another car in anger.

16. Trying to run another car off the road to punish the driver.

17. Getting out of the car and beating or battering someone as a result of a road exchange.

18. Trying to run someone down whose actions angered you.

19. Shooting at another car.

20. Killing someone.

From a driver in an electronic newsgroup discussion: I agree: people who drive too slowly in the fast lane cause danger and frustration to others on the road, and probably should stick to the side roads if possible. BUT, aggressive driving is just as bad if not worse, causing innocent people to be hurt or killed. By aggressive, I'm not talking about driving fast. A lot of roads are built to handle fast driving. I'm talking about people who take their frustrations out on others while driving. Immature, heartless, brainless, dangerous people who think that when someone cuts them off in traffic they have to get revenge, consequently endangering the lives of everyone who happens to be driving near them.

I have lost people dear to me because of people who think just like you. You probably think that there's this club of "slow ass" drivers on the road just to make you mad. I have news for you--you're not that special! I don't know if you're the kind of person who freaks out on the road, but if you do I'd like to make my point very clear: As far as I'm concerned, aggressive driving is like waving a loaded gun in a public place. People who do it should be prosecuted. They are one step away from being murderers.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.   (Matthew 5: 19-20)

Lifelong Driver Education

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

It is a well known that the traditional driver's ed. has remained inadequate as the means for teaching full competence and knowledge of safety, and only satisfies the bare minimum for getting driver's licenses into the hands of millions of young people. Even less attention is given to teaching emotional intelligence skills. The result is that most drivers are ill-prepared to manage their intense emotions behind the wheel. We propose that henceforth driver education should be taught K-12 for Emotional Intelligence Skills on the road:

• As pedestrians, how to behave towards drivers ·
• How to behave as passengers ·
• How to deal with hostility expressed by drivers ·
• How to deal with peer pressure in highway situations ·
• How to develop and sustain a positive driving philosophy ·
• How to be accepting of diversity and how to accommodate to it ·
• How to practice self-witnessing on roads and in cars ·
• How to participate in Quality Driving Circles ·
• How to use inner power techniques to manage emotions in traffic ·
• How to neutralize the media portrayals of drivers behaving badly ·
• How to resist bad influences from friends who want to party in the car ·
• How to be psychologically prepared for not driving after drinking ·
• Knowledge of driving psychology principles ·
• How to be active in the movement called Children Against Road Rage ·
• Getting used to keeping a permanent Road User Log or Diary

Dear DrDriving:
When driving in the right hand lane, I will often take note of the traffic behind me as I approach a red light. If I find there is no turn lane at the light and the car behind me has their turn signal on indicating they want to turn right, I will pull into the next lane to my left (if I can do so safely) so the person in the right hand lane behind me can make their turn at the light without having to wait for it to turn green (you can turn right on a red light in Arizona).

I also tend to give up my "right of way" to anyone who has the courtesy to use their turn signal. I believe bad driving habits begin outside of the automobile. If we improve our relations with other humans (as a whole in this culture) and consider other drivers on the road as people instead of as automobiles, driving conditions will begin to improve. When someone smiles or waves at you, you remember their humanity. When someone honks at you, you remember their license number. You can quote me on that.

Prayers Behind the Wheel

But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:11).

Lord, we are grateful that you are giving us the understanding for how to be a compassionate and law abiding driver. Lord, we thank you for the desire to act peacefully towards other drivers and road users. We pray that you keep us from falling into temptations behind the wheel and we ask for strength to resist our natural penchant for competing with other drivers and denying them the courtesy I owe them and the dignity they are entitled to as God's children. Amen.

Lord, help me to see that tailgating is wrong. Strengthen my resolve to keep my vehicle within legal and safe limits. Heal me, Lord, of a led foot and an impatient heart. Let your angel watch over all road users, that we may be protected from taking dangerous risks. Help us Lord to see our driving errors and heal us from the sin of anger against our neighbor on the road. Amen.

Go forward Christian soldier The Lord has been thy shelter The Lord will be thy light Trust only Christ thy captain Heed not the treacherous voices that lure thy soul astray O pray that faith and virtue may keep thee to the last. (Christian Hymn)

Lord, I want consciously to be the kind of driver You want me to be so that Your love can be the foundation upon which I build my traffic life. I can then be in harmony with the rest of the Highway Kingdom and my decisions can be grounded in Divine Love and Wisdom, so that I may be confident that my actions and thoughts and intentions will be loving and harmonious, supportive and tolerant, collective and coordinated, predictable to others, a Good Samaritan, in accordance with Your wishes, O Lord Jesus. Amen.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:14).

Lord, when my thought focuses on You, I feel loved, warm and secure. Let it be with me as it was with You, recorded in Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you." Thank you, Lord, for the wisdom and love I have as a driver. Let your righteous judgments be my judgments behind the wheel--swift and accurate, prudent and compassionate. Keep the demon of traffic rage from tempting me to sin, for I know full well my former delights of rage and retaliation, anger and unrighteous judgment, and all manners of driving foolishness--tailgating, speeding, blocking the left lane, going through red lights, ignoring stop signs, changing lanes without signaling, revving my engine, insulting, wishing ill, feeling selfish, and worse than these. Lord Jesus Christ, You are my God, You I seek, and my mind and spirit thirst for You, for Your love and wisdom, for your gentle instruction, for your patience and encouragement, for your protection and promises. Amen.

Christian Affirmations for Drivers

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.   (James 3: 17-18)

But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. For if any one is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.  (James 1: 22-25)

1. Every driver can become a transformed driver!
2. A driver’s character CAN change and improve endlessly!
3. You CAN become a Renewed Driver, a driver with HEART!
4. Driving CAN be beautiful!
5. Every bad driving habit can be modified!
6. The Lord participates in your driving—let it be a harmonious cooperation!
7. The Lord appoints Angels to be with you while you drive!
8. You can place yourself in the protective stream of Divine Providence by consciously honoring drivers and traffic regulations!
9. We make hundreds of little decisions while driving, and every one of them counts spiritually—for the Lord or against the Lord!
10. Heaven is real. Hell is real. Eternity is real. It’s our choice, says the Lord!
11. Highway babylon CAN be transformed into The King’s Highway, and I am called upon to make a contribution as a driver!
12. All drivers CAN be transformed from an aggressive driver into a supportive driver!
13. All Christian drivers experience aggressive moments, and these are given them as a spiritual temptation to overcome for the sake of purification, hence closer ties to the Lord!
14. Christian drivers CAN switch from being a big part of the problem to being a big part of the solution to highway babylon!
15. We CAN pray to the Lord to save us from our negative thinking behind the wheel and to fill us with His positive thoughts!
16. Christian drivers who have experienced the transformation, sense an inner joy braking forth all around them in traffic—already they are in The King’s Highway!
17. Christian drivers who have experienced the transformation, sense an inner strength surging within them when sitting behind the wheel!

 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!! (Matthew 23:37)

Except ye believe that I Am, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalms 91: 2, 4)

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A Driver’s Conversation with an Angel of the Lord: Part 2

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15: 3-7)

I was troubled. There was distress in my heart. I glanced over and saw his face again. I had not noticed before that he was an extremely handsome young man. Hard to pinpoint the age, but I’d say about 22. There was a definite luminance to his skin and his expression was intelligent and relaxed. I only took about three quarters of a second to look at him, then my head whipped back. His image was still sharp in my memory as my eyes were searching the road ahead. Heavy rain drops were beginning to appear on my windshield. I waited awhile before turning on the wipers. When I did it was too soon and there still was'nt’t enough water so my blades were rubbing the glass and making that awful noise I hate.

So I turned it on for a three wipes, then I turned it off. Then I turned it on again, but it stopped raining. I was disappointed. Now I have nothing to fool with. I glanced over to the Angel of the Lord. He was just looking ahea