CityView Magazine

faith turn at the next street (that's what the large LCD screen stuck to your windshield is for). A turn signal is there to warn the person driving behind you of your intention to change direc- tion so that they have time to slow down without slamming on their brakes and sending their kid's Cheetos flying into the front seat. Your turn signal is not for you, it's for them. Christianity is primarily about others. At the heart of our C faith is the generosity of God who gave his only son for our benefit. Jesus himself said that he came to serve — not to be served. As Christians we are to live lives so changed by his generosity that we mirror it in our interactions with others. We live to serve. RoadSage hristians use turn signals. Let me tell you why: turn signals are for the benefit of others. The little flashing light that appears on your dash- board is not there to remind you that you have to life revolves around us and our own pursuit of happiness. No- tice that no car advertising attempts to sell their product on the platform of "extra large turn signals and brake lights so everyone around you will be safer." Instead it is about you be- ing able to navigate, text, chat, change the radio station, and split the atom with only the sound of your voice while you drive. More status, more convenience, more me. The problem is that when we are so consumed by our- selves that instead of being happier we end up being miser- able — and sharing our misery with others. As we talk on the phone, eat our breakfast, and apply our makeup while we drive, we don't have any hands leſt to flick our leſt index finger up and switch on our turn signal. So we turn without signal- 16 | March/April • 2012 BY DAN ALGER ing and the guy behind us slams on his brakes, dumps his cof- fee in his lap, blares the horn as he passes by inches from our bumper, which makes us angry that he dared beep his horn. Suddenly we find a way to liſt a finger on our leſt hands, but it's not to use the turn signal. By this time we are angry, he is frustrated, and everyone's day is a little darker. Jesus turns the idea of the pursuit of happiness on its head. He says that it is actually better to give than receive. He says that less is actually more, that serving is actually where true joy is found, and that we should put the needs of others ahead of our own. In doing so we will better know his heart and be reminded who we were created to become. But to do so we need to free up some space and take some action. Try put- ting down your phone and your honeybun and moving your finger as a beginning. Now, Jesus wasn't talking directly about driving, in fact he He says that less is actually more, that serving is actually where true joy is found, and that we should put the needs of others ahead of our own. Most things in this world teach the opposite message, that is calling us to bring much greater change, but turn signals are as a good a place as any to start. Every fiber of our body is wired to consume and seek our own good. We need constant reminders of the radically different life Jesus is calling us to live. Moving one finger half an inch to signal the guy behind us and save his coffee and his kid's Cheetos might not change the world, but it might help to change our attitude, and that can lead to much bigger things. Besides, what better mne- monic can we have to remind us to serve others than liſting a finger for their benefit? So, come on Christians, use your turn signals and change the world. CV Dan is the Pastor of The Church of the Apostles and can be reached at ecs@tcota.org.

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