Either every car I’ve ever owned has had a faulty speedometer, or nearly every other Michigan driver drives over the speed limit, and most of them a lot over.
What possesses someone to decide at some moment that “this rule isn't for me”?
And where do you draw the line, and how do you hold others accountable for more serious infractions when we freely make little ones every day?
Being honest is a matter of character, not context.
c0
FWIW, I think what possesses us is a history of example or instruction that it’s okay to bend rules if we don’t get caught (outside of exceptional situations that rules can’t anticipate).
I once had a coworker who said his father always taught him, “Just drive a little slower than the fastest guy on the road and you won’t get stopped.”
Hmmm… how about just stealing a little less than the next guy? Or leaving fewer bruises on your wife, or not lying as much, or littering a little less?
[2013-11-03]
c0
I've not thought about it much lately, but the idea that Pastors were known to be fast drivers used to be a source of confusion for me as a kid. We were all being taught to obey the rules, all the time. And here was the chief Rule Keeper (if you will) breaking the rules, and nobody seeming to feel that was a problem. Of course, as adults, they had long since rationalized things, but for a kid still trying to figure out how things worked - That WAS confusing. I agree - good observation.
ReplyDeletePastor Pauly (Powly?) once addressed our 8th grade class on this subject and we all challenged him with "What if your wife was having a baby, would you speed then?" He said no, but I doubt very much he meant that. He meant instead "I have to be consistent in my answers to 8th graders or I will raise more questions than I answer," which is not an answer.
ReplyDelete--c0