Today's Daily Lesson: Day 7: Take Your Shalom on the Road

One of the most common adversaries of shalom is driving a car.

For some mystical reason not revealed to mortal man, when people get behind the wheel they morph instantly into race car drivers. 

The most mild-mannered person feels tense and rushed behind the wheel. 

We become enraged when another driver fails to leave enough space for us to merge or when we’re forced to wait unnecessarily at a green light. 

As a society we seem to have resigned ourselves to the unpleasantness of this special brand of anger known as “road rage.” 

Generally speaking, people driving cars lack shalom.

What would it look like to drive with shalom? 

Imagine if your car had the words “Drive Peacefully” painted in bright green letters across the side. How would you drive then?

You’d make room for the other drivers around you. You’d allow others to merge into your lane when they needed to. You probably wouldn’t honk except for safety’s sake. And you certainly wouldn’t rush. 

Whether on the interstate entrance ramp or driving past your neighbor’s driveway, you’d let other cars go in front of you. You’d drive gently and leave extra room between yourself and the car in front of you. You would be unleashing your budding superpower of inner shalom in situations where it’s not the norm. 

But what if you really are in a rush? Perhaps you got a late start and like an airline pilot, you think you can “make up time in the air.” What if you don’t have time to drive peacefully? 

Remember that shalom is a precious commodity and easily squandered. Don’t torpedo it just to arrive a little sooner.

Driving this way is not just being kind — or safe, for that matter. This is the way to bring harmony to humanity and to advance the cause of shalom. Do it for your own peace of mind and to exercise your shalom “muscle.” 

Someone with a shalom personality takes pleasure in making others feel more comfortable and contributes positively to a harmonious, peaceful world. 

May we all arrive pleasantly — and safely — together at our destination.

Try this today: Take your shalom on the road. Drive peacefully.