I have to admit that I really don’t like it when someone tailgates me. It seems to always annoy me. In nearly every case, I am going the speed limit, but somehow it is not fast enough for the speedster. It’s not like I am a slow driver. I don’t want to sound overly pious, but I try to observe the speed limit. I simply cannot get out of the tailgaters’ way without vanishing into thin air.
Several weeks ago, I was driving near St. Louis High in a school zone. The speed limit drops to 25 MPH in the morning hours on school days. It was 8:00 AM. So, I was going 25 MPH, but the guy behind me was nearly in my trunk for the entire two blocks, obviously irritated with me for going the speed limit. So what was I supposed to do? Speed in a school zone because he is in a hurry?
I was even tailgated the other day at Walmart. Not in the parking lot, but in the store. I was actually tailgated by a guy behind me with his shopping buggy. He stayed right on my heels as I went down an aisle.
I love the words of Paul Simon in a great old song: “Slow down, you move too fast. You gotta make the morning last.”
I understand that we sometimes get in a hurry. All of us do. But I think we need to hear again the words of Jesus: “Consider the lilies of field. They neither toil nor spin.” (Matthew 6:8)
Maybe today, with God’s help, we can slow down a little bit and relax. May God help us to be still for a few minutes, and to know that God is God.