Richard, the guy who fixes our cars, is an old drag racer, motorcycles that is. Back in the seventies and into the eighties, he raced Kawasaki H-2's, the 750 2 stroke. When breathed on, and nitrous added, he ran into the high 8's, fast by any standards. A fast shoe to be sure. But what is impressive to me, and to him, is he is the only person I ever heard of with a perfect reaction time. Anticipating the green light at the start, the best guys are down to .05 seconds, which at the end of the 1/4 mile can be a bike length or two, that is how critical it is. But Richard has the timing slip showing perfect reaction, 0.00 reaction time, and I am impressed. A great record, but impossible to improve on. And unlike a hole shot in drag racing, when you only have a 1/4 mile to be right on, you gotta be quick-or you lose. And in a two man race, second place is first loser.
There have always been fast guys, but it is the fastest guys I am impressed with. the ones who when it counts, deliver. They give it whatever it takes to win, and in drag racing, concentration, and consistency are important. And this is important on the road too. At 60mph you are travelling 83 feet/second. In the time it took to read this, you travelled three+ car lengths. While talking your phone-illegal, doing your eye liner, reading your notes, or trying to research something on your i-pod. And while trying to pilot a 4000 pound vehicle. And when dealing with a reaction time of over two seconds at that speed, you will have travelled six car lengths before you even apply the brakes in an emergency situation. Remember that, as you are endangering others lives while engaging in irresponsible and selfish activities. Those of us on motorcycles have families, too!
So you can see how important our reaction times can be. But just as deadly can be our over reaction times. Slamming on brakes on slick roads, and causing a skid. Turning the wheel suddenly to avoid something when not paying attention, and causing an accident. If only you were on the road, it would be different, but you share it with others. And life is also like that, it is shared with others, too.
I have been told the worse thing to do in a panic situation is to panic. To make the situation worse. And we all seem to very good at it. We over react, it is all about me, and someone has sullied my rights. I am always curious why only guilty parties talk about their rights. They never talk about their responsibilities. That must be the other guys responsibility, but not his right. In a Christian life, we all fall prey to being self righteous about things we do not do, but forget to minister to those who are dying in their sin. The Bible tells us that our sin will find us out, not God. His love covers a multitude of sins. But yet, we get self righteous ones who have all the answers, just not to our questions.
Love is a better choice. And part of love is forgiveness. I have learned that waiting for an apology will increase bitterness, so get over it. Jesus died while we were yet sinners, maybe we should forgive those that have sinned against us, but have failed to repent. And we should do the same. Recently I saw a man who has wronged me, but has never repented. He was miserable and could not talk with me as others did. His bitterness, based on rules in his life, has caused walls to come up between him and the lesser types like me. Like the Pharisees, I saw him as lonely, when a simple apology would have changed his life. And our relationship.
Forgive someone today. Bring your reaction time in love down to a 0.00. Look for ways to show Jesus, and when you are guided by His spirit, others will notice. We are still a long way from perfection, but it is amazing how one little speck in my eye, can cause the whole eye to see distorted.
Life is short. Forgive. Like any other driver, a drag racer puts his miles on a 1/4 mile at a time. But for him that time means something. And time is short. You can't go back, but you can go on.
Jesus' reaction time was perfect. At the right time. Follow His example and increase your times, both good and bad. And to those who have offended me, I forgive you. Will you forgive me? Perhaps when we see each other as He does, we will enjoy life more. He sees us as perfect, and forgiven. What is your reaction to that?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com