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Yielding in Humility
When you come to a four-way stop, what do you do? Well, what you should do is follow the rules which are, after a complete stop, 1) the first to arrive goes first, 2) the person on the right goes first, 3) the person going straight goes first. These rules don’t always work and can get confusing sometimes, but generally, they keep us sane.
I lived in Canada for several years, and the culture there is far more deferential than the culture in the US. So, four-way stops were a nightmare. Their rule seems to be, don’t-ever- go-until-everyone-else-agrees-to-invite-you-to-go-with-a- minimum-of-three-polite-hand-gestures-that-obviously-imply- “No, you go first, sorry.” You’d sit there for hours!
Can you imagine, in Miami... Miami drivers use a lot of hand gestures at four-way stops too, emphasizing the only universally accepted traffic rule in our city, “me first.”
I lived in Canada for several years, and the culture there is far more deferential than the culture in the US. So, four-way stops were a nightmare. Their rule seems to be, don’t-ever- go-until-everyone-else-agrees-to-invite-you-to-go-with-a- minimum-of-three-polite-hand-gestures-that-obviously-imply- “No, you go first, sorry.” You’d sit there for hours!
Can you imagine, in Miami... Miami drivers use a lot of hand gestures at four-way stops too, emphasizing the only universally accepted traffic rule in our city, “me first.”
The four-way stop illustrates submission, and how people act at four-way stops can serve to illustrate what individuals believe about submission. The “me first” mentality that rejects all submission to rules and/or others
is dangerous and causes accidents and social strife. The Canadian, “you first, always” mentality creates delays, inefficiency and confusion, while, ironically, also creating social strife. The middle ground is the obvious choice where there is appropriate submission to reasonable rules.
So, what is appropriate submission? How much of my personal freedom/autonomy should I be willing to give up in order to live in a society that works?
What about reasonable rules? Who gets to make them and enforce them? Once they’ve been made, should we trust them from then on? What is our process for changing rules? How much should rules protect my personal freedom/autonomy?
These questions are not arbitrary, they go straight to the heart of what it means to be human. We are not ants. We’re not machines that behave predictably. But we also can’t do this on our own, we need each other. If only there was a supreme power that was also ultimately good!
Many have tried to paint the God of the Bible as tyrannical, controlling, and restrictive. But that doesn’t make sense. God, by definition, must be all-powerful. But God, by definition is also perfectly Good. If God was only all-powerful and not good, why have we had so much freedom through all of history to determine our own laws? And why are there so many different cultures and ways of existing in the world, many of which do not align with God’s will?
No, something else is at play here. God is all-powerful, he has to be, but he doesn’t use that power to subjugate us at all. Instead, He offers His love to invite us to submit to His ways. In Romans 5:8 it says, “God has demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Then He uses His power to turn the circumstances of history so that, “We [can] know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.
That isn’t tyrannical! That’s a really good father! Submission to God, doesn’t mean bondage, it means true freedom; freedom from addiction, freedom from the tyranny of other powers that seek to subjugate us for selfish gain, freedom from even the ultimate consequences of sin and death. It’s an incredible deal.
So, what do we do? “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7.
In other words, humbly yield your life to our good, great God and thrive.
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is dangerous and causes accidents and social strife. The Canadian, “you first, always” mentality creates delays, inefficiency and confusion, while, ironically, also creating social strife. The middle ground is the obvious choice where there is appropriate submission to reasonable rules.
So, what is appropriate submission? How much of my personal freedom/autonomy should I be willing to give up in order to live in a society that works?
What about reasonable rules? Who gets to make them and enforce them? Once they’ve been made, should we trust them from then on? What is our process for changing rules? How much should rules protect my personal freedom/autonomy?
These questions are not arbitrary, they go straight to the heart of what it means to be human. We are not ants. We’re not machines that behave predictably. But we also can’t do this on our own, we need each other. If only there was a supreme power that was also ultimately good!
Many have tried to paint the God of the Bible as tyrannical, controlling, and restrictive. But that doesn’t make sense. God, by definition, must be all-powerful. But God, by definition is also perfectly Good. If God was only all-powerful and not good, why have we had so much freedom through all of history to determine our own laws? And why are there so many different cultures and ways of existing in the world, many of which do not align with God’s will?
No, something else is at play here. God is all-powerful, he has to be, but he doesn’t use that power to subjugate us at all. Instead, He offers His love to invite us to submit to His ways. In Romans 5:8 it says, “God has demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Then He uses His power to turn the circumstances of history so that, “We [can] know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.
That isn’t tyrannical! That’s a really good father! Submission to God, doesn’t mean bondage, it means true freedom; freedom from addiction, freedom from the tyranny of other powers that seek to subjugate us for selfish gain, freedom from even the ultimate consequences of sin and death. It’s an incredible deal.
So, what do we do? “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7.
In other words, humbly yield your life to our good, great God and thrive.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.