Going 50 in a 65 World

The speed limit on my most-traveled highway is 65 mph.

Except in this one spot.

See, there's a bridge that crosses over the highway and they're doing some construction work on it. So naturally, there are cones and trucks and workers on the highway underneath the bridge. Thus, per construction zone code, the speed limit has been significantly decreased. (Because somebody thought it would be a good idea to not run over workers. Genius.)

So the speed limit drops to 55 mph...

...and then to 50.

Now if you've ever been in a construction zone on a highway, you know how hard it is to slow down to the new speed limit. When you lose 15 mph, all of a sudden it feels like you're crawling, regardless of the fact that you're still a good 10-15 mph faster than the average city street.

I was driving through that construction zone the other day when I realized that since they started the construction work, I hadn't ever actually slowed down to the new speed limit. I felt slightly torn as to what to do. I knew I ought to slow down. It's the law. It's what's right. But no one else was. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE else was still going 65.

Do you know how hard it is to go 50 when everyone else is going 65?!?!

Not only do you feel like you're traveling at a snail's pace, but people swerve around you and glare at you as they pass and make it abundantly clear that they're quite annoyed with your rule-following.

Some people stay behind you at first. They sit back, and who knows what they're thinking. Maybe they're hoping you'll speed up. Maybe they're feeling guilty for not following the speed limit themselves. Whatever the reason, they hang back behind you for a ways. But eventually they get impatient and they too jerk into the next lane and put the pedal to the metal.

Our culture has a "speed limit" at which people are used to traveling. It's a way of life to which we've all become accustomed.

But the Lord's "speed limit" is different. Way more than a 15 mph difference.

Isaiah 55:8-9,
"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

The world says, "Have what you want, and have it now!"

The Lord says, "'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:24-26)

The world says, "My life is about me!"

The Lord says, "It's not all about you. It's about Christ." (Rough paraphrase of Philippians 2:1-11)

The world says, "Spend your life and your money accumulating stuff to make yourself happy!"

The Lord says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20)

The world says, "Make yourself comfortable!"

The Lord says, "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me." (Paraphrase, Luke 9:23)

That all sounds great when you're sitting in church on Sunday singing and smiling and shaking hands with people who agree with you. But what happens when the rubber meets the road? What happens when following Christ means doing something different from the world? Worse, what happens when following Christ means doing something different from the church?

Do you know how hard it is to go 50 when everyone else is going 65?!?!

It's hard. Really hard. Especially when you love the people who are going 65.

And it gets harder. Because people fly past you, making sure you know how annoyed they are that you're going 50. Some of them really do think it's dumb. Others are trying to bury their guilt because deep down, they know they ought to be going 50, too.

It's hard to stick to the speed limit under all that pressure. It's hard to follow Christ when it means going against the flow. And the more cars that fly by, the more tempting it becomes to speed up. Don't.

Galatians 6:8-9,
"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

I think the Message version of that probably says something like, "If you speed, you're gonna crash. If you go the speed limit, you'll get there safely. Keep going the speed limit, even when everyone else is speeding. It'll be worth it when you get there."

So, if you're going 50...awesome job! I admire you! Be uplifted and don't give up!

If you're going 65...slow down! The Lord's speed is so much better! Be convicted and hit the brakes!

If your speedometer bounces between 50 and 65...welcome to the club! The Lord isn't finished with us! Be encouraged and keep slowing down!

Lord, teach me to go 50 in a 65 world...