No one is their best self when stuck in a traffic jam after a long day at work. Knowing this fact in my head has not helped my attitude. I have found myself easily frustrated with the sheer amount of people on the road. I have found myself judging traffic patterns, saying things like: "This would never happen in America.....if everyone would follow the rules we would move quicker......why do people always do that?" Without meaning to I was judging a culture and people I love so much. I was comparing my new culture to the one I grew up with, focusing on the negatives.
One day when I was riding my bike to language school and grumbling to myself about bad drivers and how no one actually stops at the lights, He gently whispered one word to me: selfishness. Every single human being is selfish and is only looking out for their own good, myself included. People are born selfish. Parents do not need to teach their children how to look out for themselves, focus on their own interests. It's the opposite. Parents exert a tremendous amount of energy teaching their children to set aside their own interests and consider other's.
I do not even want to know the number of times a day I only consider my own interests. He knows that number, which is way too high, and He uses my grumbling to highlight an area that I really need to grow in. He gave me a supernatural glimpse into traffic and then called me to be less selfish. Now, anytime I see a bad traffic situation or someone running a light, I am reminded that I need to be less selfish and that my actions effect other people. A crowded bus is a call to live out the Fruit of the S. I always need to be showing people more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control.
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