the basic message #E247

2/17/04

Do you have a "clean" driving record?  Mine isn't perfect, but it's way above average.  I've had 3 accidents in my driving career, all of which were from people following too closely behind me and hitting my rear bumper.  I've had one speeding ticket, one parking ticket, and one illegal turn.  I've been a licensed driver for 35 years, so I'd say my record is pretty clean............or is it?

As I was driving down the Interstate today, I was being passed by virtually every other driver, but all of a sudden everyone was going my speed.  Why?  You know why- there was a police officer up ahead an everyone was now on their best behavior.  In the old days people would continue to drive slow for many miles afterward, but these days they pick up the pace just as soon as they pass the police car.  So, I pose this question: Are people with clean driving records good drivers or safe drivers?  For the most part, I'd say no.  Some folks just know how to get tickets fixed, and many use radar detectors to prevent getting a ticket.  I once heard a pastor say that a car can't have a "Jesus fish" on the back bumper and a radar detector on the dash.  Why?  Because the two are at opposite extremes.  The Jesus fish says the person is a professing Christian, and therefore that person should also be a law-abiding citizen.  A radar detector can mean only one thing: the driver of that car speeds and is trying to beat the cops at their own game.

Many Christians today are living their lives with "God detectors" in full operation.  They cheat, steal and lie all week long, but when they get within a 100 feet of church on Sunday morning, they go into their pious mode.  It's really pretty entertaining- watching people "act".  Some of them should get an Academy Award for their performances.  It's really hard to believe that some of the same folks that stand in the "Praise and Worship" service on Sunday, looking toward Heaven, sometimes with hands outstretched towards God with eyes closed, can go out on Monday morning doing their best to screw someone.  Sorry for the crude vernacular, but I'm getting tired of this humbug.  You know what's really sad?  These same folks think they're Heaven bound since Pastor Bumfuzzle told them that "all you gotta do is believe in Jesus".  Someone needs to clarify that "believe" means a whole lot more than "accepting the reality that Jesus existed".

A clean driving record doesn't necessarily mean you're a good driver, and saying you're a Christian doesn't necessarily mean you're a Christian.  I may sound arrogant, and I might be arrogant, but I'd rather insult you here on earth than ultimately find out that you ended up in Hell.  I just hope I don't find out you're in Hell first hand.  Do I believe in Jesus?  Yes.  Do I believe he died for my sins?  Absolutely.  Do I believe that I can do these two things and automatically go to Heaven?  Absolutely not.  Real Christians work, not do works, to stay on course to enter Heaven.  People that think they can live any way they please, yet still go to Heaven amaze me.  Will somebody present their best case to support this ridiculous belief?  I'll put your dissertation on the front page of this website for a month if you've got the Scripture to back it up.