Consideration

con sid er a tion

1.

the act of considering; careful thought; meditation; deliberation.

2.

something that is or is to be kept in mind in making a decision, evaluating facts, etc..

3.

thoughtful or sympathetic regard or respect; thoughtfulness for others.

4.

a thought or reflection; an opinion based upon reflection.

5.

a recompense or payment, as for work done; compensation.

(definition from an online dictionary)

Perry and I were in a busy urban area on his driving test with a bunch of other autos in line ahead of us. We approach a red light and when Perry stops he leaves a couple of car lengths open because we are next to the drive of the Family Fare on Michael Street. Perry, who is about 50 years old and has been without his driver's license for 10 feels compelled to explain to me why he stopped where he did. “I likes to give people consideration.”

The idea of “thoughtful or sympathetic regard or respect; thoughtfulness for others” is something that is becoming quite rare in the driving arena and I suspect in the wider world of human interaction as well. People step up quite remarkably when tragedies such as the recent Boston bombings happen and there are numerous other events that seem to bring out the best in us. But in the day to day hustle and bustle of life it can be every man for himself.

Here is a typical thing that happens on a driving test. We are stopped at a red light and waiting for it to change. When it does the person taking their test checks both ways before accelerating and in that brief fraction of a second the auto behind us will lay on their horn, upset that we didn't gun it immediately. “Friendly folks we have around here” I sometimes remark to a young driver.

What happens next is utterly predictable if we are turning into multiple lanes.  The horn blower will blast past us on the outside, sometimes saluting us with their driving IQ.  I give a big toothy smile back.  There have been times when the person behind us has, in my opinion, gone overboard with the length or number of horn toots.  In the past I have been known to tell my driver to put the vehicle in park.  Getting out our car I walk to the back of it and inspect our brake lights and turn signals.  Finding nothing wrong I give an inquisitive look at the vehicle behind us while extending my arms, palms up. 

So far I have not been shot by the now later than ever to the next red light occupants, but I am no longer going to take the chance.  Even though I know these are the same people who don't think they need to merge left entering construction zones, cutting in front of a hundred cars because their time is so much more important than mine, I still need to practice what I preach and show them consideration.

This my friends is not easy.

I have a brother-in-law who did not really get turned on to Jesus until several years ago when he had a huge situation in his life that he couldn't cope with.  It was wrecking him emotionally, hurting his marriage and affecting his health.  He started going to church, studying the Bible and reading as many books on living the Christian life as possible.  He never thought he was very smart but was determined to learn the basics as best he could.  Step by step the Holy Spirit led him and he grew, not only in knowledge but with great maturity as well.

One day he thought he would check out one of the small groups that met at his church.  It turned out to his great surprise that there were a couple of men in that group that he had always hated.  They were coaches that had always done his sons wrong and here they were, regular guys who welcomed him with open arms.  They had no idea of his years of animosity toward them.  It hadn't affected them one bit.  He was able to forgive them and this cut out one of the roots of bitterness hiding deep in his heart.  He learned what one of my preachers used to say:  Hating someone is like you drinking poison and expecting the other guy to die.  It only hurts you.

My brother-in-law started late but he is thrilled to be where he is now in life.  He is happy, strong in his relationships, has peace and really trusts that God is in control.  And having to work everything through step by step he is able to witness to his life in Christ quite ably.

A lot of the behavior we see in this world stems from selfishness.  We can overcome that by being respectful, thoughtful and sympathetic.  Consideration is not the road to holiness but it should be a fruit of our relationship with a loving God.  He has all the time in the world.  Let's ride with Him.