Articles
Eyes Up
While driving alone on the highway, one has plenty of time to think and think. One road sign I saw made me do just that. “Eyes up… don’t text and drive.”
By now, most of us are aware of the dangers of texting and driving. Still, how often do we see people barely staying on the road because they are distracted by their phone? Somehow, the laws and constant reminders aren’t getting through to some people. I suppose laws are that way, they don’t do much good if people don’t obey. The Bible is that way too. God can repeat a rule over and over, but it won’t do us any good if we can’t be bothered to obey.
The sign said more than “don’t text”—it urged drivers to keep their eyes up. Other signs that have been popping up around the country read, “Keep eyes on the road.”
It occurred to me that I was living in two different worlds. One world was the interior of the car—enclosed and comfortable with music and food. This world was calm. The air stood relatively still, other than the pleasant breeze coming from the air conditioning. Water bottles were by my side. My cell phone was within sight. In this world, I had everything I needed for the moment.
Then there was the world outside my car, moving at seventy miles per hour. Trees blurred as I passed. I pierced through the humid air leaving a swirling wake in my tracks. I was really moving, and everywhere I looked there were potentially deadly obstacles. Slow cars in my lane had to be avoided. Don’t want to hit them. Faster cars needed to be avoided too. Don’t want to be hit by them. Then there were stationary obstacles too—metal signs, lamp posts, steep drop offs, holes in the road, and much more. They were standing still, but I wasn’t. It could be deadly if we collided. As long as I stayed in between the lines on the road, I was generally safe, but to do that, I had to keep my eyes on the road. This world presented constant danger and ultimate hope. By moving through this outside world, I could reach my final destination. Home. And as comfortable as the inside of the car could be for a few moments, it was no substitute for home.
These two worlds existed at the same time, so close together but so incredibly different. We shouldn’t need signs to remind us which world to focus on. It should be obvious. Focus on avoiding the dangers outside and arriving safely at your ultimate destination. Look forward, outside of the car. Drive. Just drive. All of the distractions inside the car are just that, distractions. If the cell phone rings, it doesn’t suddenly become more important than the outside world. It doesn’t remove the danger. In fact, it heightens it, because it entices us to look down.
Keep perspective. The cell phone isn’t the only distraction. Sometimes there are buzzing flies, or dangling spiders or fluttering moths that get inside our cars. Don’t you hate that! They may be squirmy and wiggly and terrifyingly close. They may startle you or land on you or maybe just annoy you, causing quite a commotion. But it’s just a bug. What really matters, the real danger, is in the outside world. Don’t lose sight of the road just to shoo an annoyance away. The bug isn’t the real danger. It won’t help you get home and it will only keep you from getting home if you divert your attention towards it. The bug doesn’t matter. Keep your eyes up. Don’t swat and drive.
Do you see the spiritual point? We exist in two worlds. We have our physical life immediately surrounding us and our spiritual life where we race towards our ultimate destination. In this physical world, there are constant distractions—work, hobbies, television, internet, cell phones, relationships, houses, cars, bills, diseases, worry, pain, sorrow, stress… The list goes on and on. There is so much calling for our time, our attention, and our affection. But they are all distractions, enticing us to focus on the physical world rather than our urgent spiritual journey. The dangers we face are outside. Avoiding obstacles, staying between the lines, and making the right turns at the right time is what matters if we want to get home.
“…keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:1b-2).
Eyes up!
