Entitlement Surfing

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:3-8

The other day I read an article of an initiative the police were doing in our area. It was called Operation Interstate Surfing. I didn’t know what this meant so I was interested in the phrase. Interstate Surfing is when instead of drivers sitting patiently in traffic, they pull out of traffic onto the shoulder or upcoming exit lane to pass the other cars. As the lane runs out they cut back into the moving traffic. This is not only rude but also dangerous and that day alone there were 42 arrests. I loved the image below that went along with the story, and it has come to mind several times while driving. For a while, the officers blocked the lane, so no one could thoughtlessly gain access over another.

I was thinking this morning about humility and its definition, so I looked it up. As I read the words on the page, the image of Christ on the cross came to mind. ‘In the Bible, humility is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. It is the opposite of aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness…Rather than “Me first,” humility allows us to say, “No, you first, my friend.” Humility is the quality that lets us go more than halfway to meet the needs and demands of others. Humility allows us to see the dignity and worth of all God’s people…It does not deny our own self-worth but affirms the inherent worth of all persons.’ Christian Bible Reference website. Humility does not even think about interstate surfing.

Humanity naturally defaults to pride over humility…our emotions default to entitlement surfing. We feel entitled to assert our rights over others. We feel entitled to break in line at stores when we are running late. We feel entitled to surf past the feelings of others when dealing with a disagreement. We choose our own interest over others and see ourselves better than the homeless person approaching our cars. God instructs each of us to live life on a higher level by seeing ourselves on a lower one. Christ gave us the perfect example of considering the interest of others over His own. Through the humility of His birth, we see no royal crib but a manger with hay to lay His head. Through His humility on earth, we see the heart of a servant, not a King. Through His humility to the point of death, we gain life.

I pray that next time we are sitting in traffic, we will remember that Christ pulled out of His lane and headed for the cross so the rest of us could have the destination of Heaven.