New Attitude

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.  He humbled Himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross!  (Philippians 2:5-8)
 
Alicia asked me to run to Target last night on my way home from work to pick up a few items.  It never fails, but on any given day at any given time at Turkey Creek, you are bound to see some reckless driving.  Yesterday I nearly had two incidents as I was almost rear-ended while trying to park by a driver that was tailgating me too close while talking on the phone and not paying a bit of attention to what they were doing.  The second close call came on the way out of the store; a lady in a Cadillac was speeding across the parking lot and almost ran over me and took out the lady who was loading her items into the SUV beside me.  It's no wonder that the number of "Road Rage" cases in the United States grow larger and larger each year.
 
Twenty years ago, "Road Rage" wasn't even a common phrase.  So what's happened?  Are we so used to having things instantly that we have forgotten what it is like to be patient and wait for something?  Coming from the horrid driving conditions I became accustomed to when we lived in Atlanta, Knoxville traffic isn't really that bad. Too many people have no consideration for other people on the road nowadays.  Mix that together with advances in modern technology and we as a society don't understand the meaning of steadfastness or patience.  I believe that some of us even have a God-complex. "My schedule is the only one that matters."  "I must get to where I am going, who cares about the person I just cut off on the exit ramp."  "I am so busy that I must multi-task and yap on the cell phone while I drive drive so that get everything done." Sound familiar? 
 
Take Paul's words about Jesus' attitude to heart...here is the Son of God, the One who can summon all the angels in heaven at any given moment, walking among us on this earth, going through the same struggles and trials that we all deal with to this very day.  Big point-Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped.  Even more amazing, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross! You can't make this stuff up...He was, is, and will always be the genuine article.  His attitude is the one we should all try and replicate in our own lives.  I need to remember this the next time I sit behind the wheel of my car to drive, or when my wife calls me to see how my day is going, or when things are not going the way I'd like them to at the office, and so on and so on....imagine how different things would be if we had Jesus' attitude!