A show on television that I enjoy watching is “Canada’s Worst Driver”. Frankly, in my books, anything Andrew Younghusband touches turns to gold, because he has such a great sense of humour, but also a way of being poignant when the need arises.
If you’ve not watched the show, the producers accept nominees from across the country of individuals who are deemed to be especially dangerous to the motoring public. The producers narrow the field to eight candidates, who check themselves in to the “Driver Rehabilitation Centre”, at the old airport in Dunnville, Ontario. From there, they are assessed and taught a variety of both driving and coping skills, in the hope that they will be rehabilitated. Along with driving instructors, a therapist is also part of the rehab team.
The therapist is going to earn her keep this season. One young woman from Edmonton who was nominated was deemed to be the most dangerous driver they’ve ever had on the show. When the crew went to film her biographical sketch, they said they wouldn’t get in a car with her again. That’s a pretty serious claim, if you consider the bad drivers who have been on this show before!
Her skills are astounding: running through stop signs and red lights without even looking; texting and driving; passing on a double line; aggressive driving…and the list goes on.
What’s most troubling about this young woman is that she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with what she does. As host Younghusband said to her, “That is the driving of a horrible person.” He wasn’t suggesting she was a horrible person; he was saying that her driving was that of a horrible person. It’s like she was a different person behind the wheel. She was someone who owned the world, who acted like society had to bow to her every wish. She’s going to require some pretty heavy-duty psychological aid through this season, and I hope she (and all the other candidates) get the rehabilitation they need so they can carry on normally in the future.
When I told this story to a friend, who operates a railway locomotive, he recounted a story of a trucker that hit his train, claiming he believed he didn’t need to stop for trains.
Doesn’t it just make you want to shake your head? I hope so!
While some will deem this a generational thing, in my experience, it’s not limited to a generation. This sense of entitlement may be an epidemic. Whether it’s by how we raise our kids, or how we treat store clerks, or how we treat other drivers, our responsibility as followers of Jesus in the midst of this challenge is to live like our Leader. Ponder these words from the apostle Paul, who early in the life of the Christian church penned this truth about the Lord Jesus:
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.5-11, NLT).
Let this be true for us. It will rub off.
