I believe that automobiles were invented not only for transportation, but also to test our character.

I have to admit that I've had my patience tested a time or two with these aggrevating vehicles. Take car repairs, for instance. I invented the phrase “technologically challenged.” If anybody was ever mechanically deprived, I'm it.

My dad did teach me how to change a tire as I was beginning to drive, just in case I ever needed to know. And I took a six-week continuing education course on “how to maintain your car.” The only things I remember about that long-ago evening course are how to clean corrosion off of batteries with baking soda and water, and how to change the oil.

I took a lot of pride in being able to change my own oil. That was one thing I could do. Then the manufacterers started placing the oil filters up into the innerds of the engine block where it takes a brain surgeon to get to them in these little cars.

At least I still change oil in our van. It's messy, but I gain a real sense of satisfaction in “doing it myself.” I don't know about your experience, but cars never tear up at convenient times. One of mine just went on the blink, and I called the car place to tell them I was hauling it in to them.

“What's wrong with it?” the service manager asked. Since I know so much about cars, I replied with confidence, “It won't crank.” Then I explained, “It turns over so it's not the battery, and it's definitely not the starter. I think it's fuel related. It's making a really wierd noise. It was working fine before we went on vacation, but it hasn't been used in a week.”

“Is it a four-cylinder or a V-6?” “Uh-h-h, I'm not sure.” (I think that has something to do with how many spark plugs it has, doesn't it?)

Patience can also be measured by how we behave when we get behind the wheel. My first pastorate was in Indianapolis. The Indy 500 is an annual event there. It's not just the big race that happens every Memorial Day Sunday, but the Indy 500 also includes all the hoopla leading up to the race itself.

Part of that hoopla are the speed trials that determine the placement of the drivers in the starting lineup. I kid you not, driving on I-465 (the I-285 of Indianapolis) during May became more and more hazardous as the race drew nearer. Drivers got faster and more aggressive as the month dragged on.

They were in the Indy 500 spirit. You really had to watch the other guy. Have you ever known anybody whose personality changes when he or she drives? Driving brings out the “crazy” in some people.

I've seen socially timid persons get aggressive, cutting in and out of traffic and tailgating in order to move the car in front of them over. And what about “road rage?” There's a movement in some states to require anger management to be incorporated into driver's education.

Articles are being written on how to avoid becoming a victim of senseless acts of violence on our roadways. Topping the suggestions are: never gesture back at angry drivers, and never look the angry driver in the eye; just slow down, let him proceed on his way, and try your best to be a courteous driver.

Automobiles not only test character, but also test our Christianity. Sometimes the church parking lot becomes the testing ground. I was amused several years ago at what a fellow pastor wrote in his weekly newsletter column. Evidently, there had been two minor “fender benders” in the church parking lot the previous Sunday. Both drivers left the scene without leaving a note of apology or a phone number.

The pastor wrote that one driver was known because someone recorded his license plate number. The other driver was not discovered, but the pastor wrote, “God knows who both of you are.” He went on to ask them to practice their Christianity and make the situation right.

I ran across a “Driver's Prayer” that might be helpful for each of us to consider before we take our next trip: “Lord, impress on me the great responsibility that is mine when I get behind the wheel of an automobile. Remind me that I have in my hands the power of life and death, lest I become careless. Write indelibly upon my consciousness that in one careless moment, I could put an end to the lives of some innocent victims, my family, or myself.

“Help me to be thoughtful, patient, and in control of my emotions as I drive. Help me to extend the same kindness and consideration to other drivers that I will want them to extend to me.

“Give me, oh Lord, a sense of perspective. Let me never become so foolish that I would ever take a chance with my own life or with anyone else's just to save a few minutes. You know, only too well, that heaven is filled with people who made that mistake.”

The Rev. Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville.

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