Why the Traffic Laws are Good

(Photo taken on vacation, from the passenger seat)

 I left the house today at about 1 pm with a couple of errands to run.  I hoped that, since I'm self-employed and a whole lot of other people are not, the roads would be safer to drive.  Boy was I wrong!  From people cutting around me as I accelerated on the interstate ramps, to a dump truck that didn't even gear up to enter the intersection until the light turned red, I had one frightening experience after another.  They all had one big thing in common--people violating basic traffic rules.

My harrowing experiences while running errands earlier today underscores why the traffic law is so important.  It maintains order and balance and preserves good things like peace and safety.  It's a good thing, even though it is restrictive of individual freedoms, and causes inconveniences like keeping us from reaching our destination as fast as we'd like.

Clearly, some people on the road disagreed with me, today.

I believe that God's laws function somewhat the same way.  Contemplate this: God's laws were written long ago, to maintain balance and order in the "traffic" of billions of human individuals throughout the globe, through all time and in every circumstance.  The level of complexity required to write a set of laws like that is phenomenal!

Take a moment to think about this. God thought ahead to every circumstance and event that will ever happen, and invented ways to not only prevent trouble, but to also be fair to all parties.

His law is tough and restrictive at times, and people don't like what it says about them.  People get frustrated and run God's "red lights" and cut ahead in the flow of traffic, trying to cut corners on their way to their goals.  However, the law wasn't written to inconvenience us.  It was just meant to keep us from endangering ourselves and others, and shepherd us safely to our destination.  It shows that the Author of those spiritual traffic laws actually cares about us, and just wants us to arrive safely home with Him.

Plus, as an undeserved bonus, God is still willing to help us out of trouble, even when we have ignored the laws and driven ourselves into it, if we'll only ask. However, when He's helping us, we have to follow instructions.

Here's the verse of the day, on Bible Gateway, which I thought was fully appropriate for the situation:

“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” -- Psalm 119: 160 NIV