22 April 2015 by Esperanza Ng CM –
Have you ever been rudely cut off by a driver only to have his bumper tell you, “Jesus Loves you!”? Then, while you wait for your heart to return to it’s normal pace, you watch as he speeds off to inform a whole bunch of other terrorized drivers, “Jesus Loves You! Jesus Loves You! Jesus Love You!” Grrr. So geram-fying, right??
As Malaysians, I think most of us can agree that road courtesy is not our greatest strength. In fact, many of us claim that Malaysian traffic is the worst! Well, maybe. But then again, which city does not claim to have the worst traffic ever?
In any case, worst traffic in the world or not, driving in Malaysia can be stressful. It affects us on a daily basis, and we literally have to schedule our lives around the hourly traffic conditions. “15 minutes drive + rush hour means… we leave 2 hours in advance!”— And might still end up being late.
Many of us have learned the hard way that if we don’t go along with the flow and be somewhat aggressive in our driving, we will end up getting yelled at, honked at, in a ditch, or in the middle of a road divider somewhere, in tears. In order to survive the Malaysian roads, you just have to learn to drive like a Malaysian driver.
Nevertheless, this is no excuse to drive like one who does not value life and has absolutely no consideration for others. We have all encountered people like that on the road. They weave in and out between cars, tailgate you if you happen to be going the speed limit, drive on the shoulder to skip the jam, and push you off the road if you’re in their way.
And what’s our natural reaction to this sort of behavior? We get upset, right? “[Insert unpleasant word here] fella! Cannot wait his turn wan ar?” Yes, we all confess, our language can get pretty colorful on the road. But that’s not the worst part! The worst part is when that driver blatantly announces to the world, “I FOLLOW JESUS!” I don’t know about you, but my insides knot up every time I see that and I cringe.
It is so unfortunate that it is at Christian events, when traffic is already bad and everyone else is trying to get around the congestion, that these bumper stickered car drivers are often the ones that make the flow even worse by being selfish and thoughtless of the three hundred other drivers who are trying to turn into that same parking garage. All I can think at that point is, “I hope people don’t know that this is a Christian event.”
Because what kind of message are we sending to our fellow Malaysians when we behave so distastefully behind the wheel? What kind of love could they possibly feel from “Our Jesus” if we who claim to love Him refuse to even let the guy who has had his blinking signal on for five minutes into our lane?
If John Unbeliever Lim gets cut off by a rude driver bearing no bumper sticker, he would probably say something like “Stupid BMW,” and move on with his life. If that BMW happens to have a cheery rainbow sticker that says “Praise Jesus!”, however, you can probably guess John Unbeliever Lim’s reaction before I even say it. Ready? We can all say it together:
“Ahh. See la. Christians like that wan.”
It’s not that all drivers with Christian bumper stickers drive terribly, or even that drivers with no bumper stickers are more courteous. There really is no correlation. The point is that bumper stickers that shout out to the world that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! somehow amplifies any and all offenses to the other person simply because it declares “I am a Christian!”
As Christians, we can never forget that we carry the name of Jesus wherever we go. Bumper sticker or no bumper sticker, if we profess to follow Christ, we become ambassadors of Heaven. Our every thought, word, and action is a reflection of the Person we call our Savior. Whether we like it or not, we are held to a higher standard than everybody else, not just because society expects better of us, but because God demands that we live a life of excellence that is pleasing to Him.
Yes, people are always going to judge Christians by their actions—more than they judge anyone else. But while some may think of it as unfair, we can choose to see it as affirmation that God expects His children to live by His principles and that He will hold us accountable for our shortcomings. Colossians 3:23 tells us that everything we do should be for the glory of God, and James 2:17 says that faith without action is dead.
Therefore, let us remember to live out our faith in every area of our lives. Whether it is at home, in the workplace, at a shopping mall, or on the road, our love for Jesus should attract others to Him—not repel them from Him. Wherever people know that we belong to Christ, the expectation to live up to that position is one that should not be taken lightly.
Indeed, it is an honor and a responsibility we all have as Christians to show the world through our actions that Jesus really is who He says He is. Our actions will either give credibility to the Gospel, or destroy it. So by all means, plaster your car with bumper stickers. Just bear in mind that your decision to give way to another driver or to cut him off will either reinforce or discredit the writings on your car. Don’t let your bumper sticker become an anti Gospel.
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