I have ignored speed limits for basically my entire life.  I’ve only gotten a couple speeding tickets as a result, so not a lot of consequence.  I’ve been going through Steps of Freedom by Neil Anderson and was struck by the section on rebellion.  Specifically there’s a section that prompts you to confess to God any ways that you have rebelled against civil government / authority.  One of the things that the Holy Spirit brought to mind was speeding.  And so as I asked for forgiveness and repented, I resolved to walk in obedience in this area.  Sure enough, the next day I was driving to a blood appointment and the Holy Spirit jogged my memory.  Here was an opportunity to put into practice what I had just said I would start doing.  Here are my observations as I started to obey the speed limits on my 30 minutes of driving:

Speed limits are like limits in life. They are guidelines and boundaries that we have the freedom to live by or not.  If we do, then we will reap the rewards – mainly being safer, having a clear conscience, setting a good example for kids, and avoiding speeding tickets.  If we don’t then there’s increased risk of accidents, that subtle underlying knowledge that you’re breaking the law and creating your own (if I go 10 miles over I’m fine, but 15 i’ll only do when I’m running really late), being a hypocrite one day when teaching your kids to obey speed limits and potentially getting the periodic speeding ticket.  What I’ve found is that by basically living in oblivion to these limits, I’m operating as a rebel to society.  Deciding on my own laws.  Determining what’s acceptable according to how I feel and what I want independent of any governing authority.  It also puts me in this state of always rushing.  Always racing the ETA set out by Waze.  What’s ironic is that by going the speed limit, I arrived right in line with the original ETA whereas when I normally speed, I may beat the ETA by 1 or 2 mins tops.  Is 1 to 2 minutes really worth my peace of mind?

Obeying speed limits will frustrate other people, and you! I have been guilty of letting my ego take over countless times on the road.  I used to absolutely HATE when someone would pass me, and out of spite would speed up and pass them right back.  Or my favorite, when someone comes up behind me, tailgates for a moment, then switches lanes to try and go around me.  I just coincidentally speed up at that moment.  Heartless.  Life in the slow lane, however, leads to a very different outcome.  As someone who struggles with people-pleasing, I get to enjoy the feelings that rise up when I look in my rearview and see a tailgater spewing profanity at me for my obedience.  I also get to enjoy watching countless, I mean countless cars pass me in the fast lane.  Life in the fast lane meant a handful of the REALLY irresponsible people doing 90mph would pass me here and there.  My reaction every time would be “whoa someone’s in a hurry.”  But how interesting, to be in the slow lane and realize “wow, everyone’s in a hurry.”  It does something to the soul.

Speed limits aren’t always obvious. On several occasions during this 30 minute drive I noticed that it wasn’t always apparent what the speed limit was.  Whether merging onto the freeway or turning onto a new road, it would sometimes take a whole minute (an eternity!) to finally see a speed limit sign.  This mindfulness was really interesting (and annoying) because I found myself driving really cautiously to avoid potentially going over the limit which once again would invite the angry tailgaters.  But now, were they justified in their hatred of me?  Possibly.  Ahh the relief once I would see a sign, and then the JOY when it was faster than what I was going!  I could speed up from 35 to 50 and it was all within the boundaries and limits of what was allowed.  I think there’s a lesson in margin here.  When we choose to not press the boundaries of our limits constantly, we’ll find that we have more opportunities to press on the gas and not burn ourselves out.  We’ll be able to enjoy ramping things up out of abundance.  At least that’s my theory.

Following a rule makes you aware of other rules. Being conscious of the speed I was driving made me aware of another road rule.  Stop signs.  How often do you just roll through a stop sign with 1 half-hearted pump of the break when you know there’s no cars coming?  Be honest.  Do you ever just blow through?  What I’ll do most often is a prolonged rolling stop.  And this is always when there’s no one around.  When circumstances dictate, I come to a complete stop (ie. 4 way intersection with other cars), I follow the law completely.  But alone, when it’s just me on the road, I rarely come to a complete stop.  So I see two things at work here.  1) The halo effect of awareness.  Once I started to break the habit of speeding and shift towards being more of a law-abiding citizen, my consciousness was suddenly awakened and I was on higher alert for other road signs.  2) When faced with making the right choice with others around, I allowed the external factor to dictate my response.  When alone, my true character was revealed.  What I really care about was revealed.  I’m in a rush and I don’t have time to come to a complete stop.  I’m essentially saying I’m above the law.