Curious question. It's surprising that your Bible-thumping friend wouldn't be uptight about speeding--many Christians are, for exactly the reason Shoku gave. If you quote that passage to him, it might surprise him--especially the "Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities" part. The reference is Romans 13:1-5ish. (Though I don't think the passage prohibits speeding, I doubt your friend's reasoning is the same as mine--such a passage, even poorly interpreted, might expose his own hypocracy--and at the very least, his answer might tell you something about his character.)
Speeding seems to be a favorite subject of preachers. It is a point of doctrine in Christianity that everyone sins, and pastors seem to always ask, "Do you speed?" in order to make the point. Of course, most people listening
do speed, and half of them don't think it's wrong. That's why it makes such a good example. The pastor is trying to show them that they are sinful.
It frustrates me to no end when that sermon is given, for a lot of reasons. I think it's a very bad example. When people try to make the point that everyone sins, they usually list some small sin--"Have you ever told a tiny lie?" or "Have you ever been the teensiest bit jealous of someone else?" Speeding is a good example here, because it's a small sin, something that virtually everyone has done. I hate this approach, though, because I think it is misleading on so many levels. It makes righteousness out to be an exercise in legalistic hair-splitting--as though everyone is basically decent, but nobody is
perfect. Sure, nobody in the audience has
killed anyone lately, but that doesn't matter: nobody has
perfectly followed rule #68 this week either, and that makes God angry. It makes God out to be someone who watches tirelessly with an incalculably long list of rules, checking off anyone who violates one.
God isn't like that, righteousness isn't like that, humanity isn't like that, sin isn't like that. Sin goes so much deeper than external rules and mistakes; it's about who you are. Being righteous is not a matter of keeping all the tiny rules--it is a matter of your character. That is not to say the tiny rules don't matter, but keeping them won't make you rightous, and being righteous will make keeping them easy. Humnity isn't basically decent--you don't have to use a "small" sin as an example if you want everyone in the room to come up guilty. Most people, if they knew God, would find they are guilty of grand offenses. Like a medieval tyrant before a 21st century audience, most people only
think they're decent because they don't know how good goodness can be. And God is no legalistic rules-obsessed laywer. God is a hopeless romantic, a passionate friend, and a perfect father--full of forgiveness, yet with very high standards.
But back to speeding. I said it annoys me when pastors use speeding as an example of universal sin because I think it's a poor example. That's true. But there's an even bigger reason: I don't think speeding is a sin.
Some speeding certainly is, but speeding itself, in general... I don't think it is.
It's a good example of the difference between legalistic righteousness and wisdom, so I'll explain in depth. Kurupt is right that religion ought to touch every aspect of life. "Either God is God of all or God ain't God at all." But that doesn't mean that in every area of life Christians ought to slavishly obey rules; precisely the opposite is true. They ought to pursue wisdom and righteousness.
The legalist says, "The Christian ought to respect authority, and authority says this street is 35 MPH. So we go 35 MPH, no more and no less. Case closed." That's no good, because there's a lot more to being a good citizen in driving than just obeying the speed limit. I've been driving in dark or in snow, when moving at the speed limit would have been suicidal. I've also been driving on the freeways at times when traffic was moving so fast that driving the speed limit would have been suicidal. To add to that, the cops seem to not care if you're 5ish over in the city, and more on the highways. It hardly makes sense to interpret a law more precisely than the government does--one wonders if the legalists get precision speedometers, so they can travel at a constant 35.00 MPH. Or if they drive at 34, just to make sure they don't offend the law. That's not righteousness, that's pedantery.
The apathetic looks at the whole situation and says, "Clearly the speed limits are just guidelines; I can go any speed I want." That's no good, because even if the speed limits
are just guidelines, you have more moral demands on yourself. What about keeping people safe--how about the community center at the bottom of the long hill, where people sometimes come running out into the crosswalk from behind some tall rocks? If you zoom by there at 50, what does that say about you--do you value your time more than those people's lives? How about keeping the people in your car safe? How about respect for the law? You can't just go
any speed you want!
Neither of these approaches is good. It's best to study the situation with wisdom and try to find the right thing to do. As a Christian, I ought to respect the government, out of respect for God and fear for the government; then again, in this case, the government clearly doesn't care if you speed a little--certainly not if you're way out in the middle of nowhere. I ought to respect others' safety, and sometimes that entails going slower or faster than the posted speed. I ought to consider what sort of example I'm setting for the teenagers in the car--even if I know in wisdom that speeding is all right somewhere, I might be setting one of them up to go the apathetic route. ("Well, Drakona's pretty wise and
she speeds sometimes, so I guess speed limits aren't too important...") I ought to be considerate to other people on the road, but then I also ought to be considerate to the people who are waiting for me. And on the third hand, I ought to be effective when I'm considerate--that is, doing things to "be nice" that don't really help anyone are hardly of value. And then there's integrity--I shouldn't drive any differently with cops behind me than without.
Righteousness is balancing these considerations, and constantly driving in a way that takes all of them into account. Legalism is no path to righteousness, but that does not excuse apathy. It is best to be wise! Weigh all the considerations, and drive in such a way as to please both God and government, without being stupid. That takes experience, wisdom, and knowledge of God's character--which is why nobody can get it right easily. Righteousness is something you have to
pursue.
Anyway, most people who've been driving a while have made such an analysis, and have some idea of what speed it's wise to go. And if a lot of people aren't exactly
righteous about their driving, most mature folks are decent--especially about their speed. The fact that most people roll their eyes and groan when someone suggests they shouldn't speed says to me that the person suggesting it is being "Holier Than Thou" rather than pursuing righteousness. Speeding definitely is a matter of personal conscience and wisdom, and though there are some things you can say for everyone ("You ought to respect other drivers" ... "You ought to respect people's safety" ... "You ought to respect the law"), it's certainly stupid to say "Obeying posted speed limits == RIGHTEOUSNESS." That's unnecessarily pedantic and often not true. It's equally stupid to say, "The Bible doesn't say anything about speeding exactly, therefore I can do anything I want." There are certainly general rules that apply. That's just showcasing ignorance and insensitivity.
While it's true that even little things should be done in such a way as to please God, how exactly to do that is more about what you're doing and why than it is about following the 78 Magic Rules. When you're speeding, if what you're displaying is disrespect, a lack of integrity, a lack of respect for other's safety, hypocracy about legalism, etc., it's definitely sinful. If you speed a bit, but you honestly think it's common sense and still honoring the law, then I'd say it isn't sinful. In everything, live in peace with the people around you and give glory to God. That's both harder and easier than it sounds. New covenant living rules that way.
---
(Good to see you guys. I can't visit for long, but I'm delighted to see some of the things you're talking about!
)
