Car Tags

In the United States there is a tradition of "vanity" automobile license plates. For an additional fee, authomobile owners can have customized messages on their car tags. Some of the most well-known of the vanity tags have these messages:

2THDR       This reads as "tooth doctor" and belongs to a dentist.
GRLPWR   This reads as "girl power."
NOSUP4U  This reads as "no soup for you!" and echoes the famous Soup Nazi episode on the         popular Sienfeld television series.
ISWALO     This reads as "I swallow" and is a vulgar reference to fellatio.
HIOFICER This reads as "Hi, officer!" and is a message to any police officers following the vehicle.
GONPLCS This reads as "Going places."

An extended list of car tags is at www.coolpl8z.com, check out the constantly changing Top 100.  Some are quite vulgar and offensive. You may wonder how some of the slogans got past the censors.

I recently saw a license plate which at first I could not decipher; GETMULA. I eventually understood that it reads as "get moolah." Moolah is a slang word for money. How sad.

The acquisition of money sadly is the primary motivation for many people. A Christian understanding of money is that it is simply a tool, neither evil nor good in and of itself. Ethical acquisition of money, a proper relationship to that money, and its use in furthering the Kingdom of God are proper subjects for Christian discussion.

Bumper Stickers

On America’s highways one will often see a bumper sticker like this on the rear bumper of an eighteen-wheeler truck, a bus, or a utility vehicle.

If the driver exhibits sloppy or aggressive driving behavior, they can be reported to their employer by a call to the provided phone number, usually a toll-free call. This helps to ensure that the majority drive with care.

Recently, while on a long-distance highway trip, I saw a speeding sports car with a bumper sticker which read:

“How is my driving?  Call 1-800- EAT-SHIT.”

This person is displaying contempt for everyone else. He (or she) is basically saying, “I do not care what you think of my driving.  What you think of my driving does not matter. You do not matter. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I am superior to you.”

Contempt and hostility are fueled by disgust at other people’s perceived incompetence and worthlessness. There is an intent to insult and to harm. The type of person who does this is a narcissist: arrogant, dismissive of others, and selfish, with a sense of entitlement.

What is telling is that these same people are also impulsive, immature, restrained only by a fear of being punished, disconnected from other people, manipulative, and hypersensitive to criticism. These are lost people who will be extremely difficult to reach because they will actively reject any attempt to reach them.

“When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes, And with dishonor comes scorn.” Proverbs 18:3 (NASB)

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”    2 Timothy 3:1-7 (NASB)

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation 
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Distractions

My wife and I were downtown at the courthouse to get a license plate for our new car when we saw a man trying to parallel park. He was not extremely successful to say the least. He backed up, then inched forward, and then moved out of the space to try again. It took several attempts before the driver had his car in place. When we finally were able to drive around him we saw the reason for his troubles. He was talking on his cell phone!

Put down distractions like a cell phone when you are driving or moving your vehicle around among other vehicles. Surely your telephone conversation is not more important than your own safety or the property of others.

We are all too distracted by life. How many of us do our Bible study or prayer with the television turned on?

Child in a Hot Car

It happens several times every year.  A screaming mother or guardian, a dead child in a hot automobile.  Never intending to harm the child, the adult has become distracted, rushing around, and has forgotten that the child is locked in the automobile, windows up, in the hot sun.

In the closed system of the locked car, the internal temperature in the passenger cabin can rapidly soar to 120 - 130 F ( ).  The child dies of a heat stroke.  The adult, of course, feels massive guilt and may, in some jurisdictions, face criminal charges.

People are incredulous that anyone could forget that they had left their child in a hot car.  Some make very harsh and unkind statements and a few predictably, become “holy” and "forgiving." They may say that no one knows what pressures the mother was feeling, no one knows what was on her mind, no one was “walking in her shoes.”  Then they misapply Scripture.  “Judge not that you be not judged.”

The admonition against judging others applies to hypocrisy and also to a tendency among some to pride themselves in their own holiness.  It does not mean that we are not to have opinions and it does not mean that people should not be held responsible for the consequences of their actions, even their unintentional actions.  The legal systems in the areas in which these incidents occur should be followed.  The judgements of the legal systems should be accepted.

The people who call for "understanding" do have a point.  No normal person would intentionally harm their own child.  There are extenuating circumstances and pressures on people which can cause them to exhibit "tunnel vision," seeing only the thing directly in front of them and forgetting other, more important, responsibilities.  The thing we must remember, however, is that we still bear individual personal responsibility for our actions.

Just as it is imperative for Christians to keep their eyes on God, it is also crucial for us to keep our eyes on our children (and also our elderly and others who may not be able to care for themselves).  We have been told that if anything distracts us from God, we should cut it out of our lives.  This is also a good principle for us to follow concerning those under our care.