Knuckles white, veins throbbing in my forehead, tension headache mounting, I merge onto the highway.
Driving in Dallas—or any metro area—offers constant challenges. Drivers rarely give the courtesy of a turn signal or allow others room to change lanes. So, who could blame me for taking every advantage of the HOV lane?
The High Occupancy Vehicle (or carpool) lane permits vehicles with two or more occupants to travel separated from the rest of the highway’s traffic. While many use the lane to drive faster—due to less congestion—the lane offers me the solace of not dealing with other drivers. Since I’m a stay-at-home dad and constantly have my three-year-old with me, I’m allowed to use this lane for all my highway driving. But too quickly I came to believe I was special because I could use this lane. My sin was privilege (pride).
Driving in the HOV lane might not be your source of pride, but we all suffer from this sin in some way. For some, it’s pride over material wealth, intelligence, attractiveness, or humility. For others, it’s pride in traits we believe make us better than the rest of humanity—or at least the people we know.
In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul addresses the sin of pride, reminding us that while we might think more of ourselves than we think of others, we all share the same identity in Christ. He encourages his readers to look to him, as they do to Christ, for their role model of behavior. Although he specifically addressed rivalries within the church, we can apply this same truth in our dealings with other people.
I’ve taken to driving only in the most frustrating lane: the right lane. This is my attempt at growing in Christ’s sanctification of me and dealing with pride. Through this, God teaches me patience, perseverance, and love for my fellow person.
Think of some steps you can take to deal with pride.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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I enjoy this writer. He has an interesting way of applying scripture to an everyday application.