Driving slowly – and the commands of Scripture

Recently the Welsh Senedd reduced the 30mph speed limit on the roads in Wales to 20mph.

This means that an uninterrupted three-mile journey in urban Wales now takes about three minutes longer. Predictably, responses range from applauding this to regarding it as a crisis. Rarely has 10mph been the focus of such national debate since Stephenson built his ‘Rocket’. And, unusually, this move by the current Welsh Government is clearly not a vote catcher and may increase the pressure on the economy, but they are sticking to their conviction, and as a result we all drive a little slower in Wales.

Whatever your thoughts on this, it points to the matter of the Christian and the State and, putting the particular issue in Wales aside, understanding the relationship between the State and the Christian is likely to become more important as secular influence increasingly leans on the corridors of power. Romans 13:1-7 tells us we are to submit to governing authorities as they have been established by God, are ultimately His servants and we are to do this out of conscience. It was in the face of ‘grief in all kinds of trials’ (1 Peter 1:6) that those first scattered Christians were told to ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors’ (1 Peter 2:13-14). This principle clearly matters profoundly and connects with Jesus’ response of ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’ (Matt. 22:21) when answering a question about the deeply unpopular Roman taxes in His day.

Recognising this should temper any outrage at the inconvenience of driving a little slower. It should remind us that we are to be respectful and thoughtful of the decisions of the State which at the same time benefits churches in many crucial ways and is ‘God’s servant to do you good’ (Rom.13:4). It has given laws protecting us from discrimination because of religion, upholding freedom of speech.

In the current matter of the new speed restriction in Wales the apparent motivation seems noble, as we are told it could save nine lives and prevent 98 serious injuries a year. This apparent motivation fits with our Lord’s command to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matt.22:39). The well-being of ‘other people’ is to matter to us because it matters to God. Acknowledging the motive, complying with the law and resisting a visceral reaction to change, inconvenience and imposition may, in our increasingly angry and critical culture, be a lesser way of shining ‘like stars in the universe’ (Phil. 2:15). It may give the opportunity to point to the ethic driving our compliance with the new speed limit of ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. An ethic that is increasingly radical in the face of the escalating selfishness that our secular culture celebrates and applauds.

But respecting the State never means the State is always right, and there may well be times ahead in the UK when ‘Caesar’ demands what rightly belongs to God alone. 10mph slower on a short journey is a minor inconvenience in Wales, but for some brothers and sisters in our world, what the State has imposed comes as a much more serious difficulty. As we know, there are parts of the world today where to be faithful to ‘what is God’s’ provokes the wrath and unleashes the persecution of the State. The history of the church is full of this and it appears to be the soundtrack for many of the New Testament letters. In the face of this we are told to ‘Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow-prisoners, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering’ (Heb.13:3). Maybe this is something worth reflecting on and praying about in those ever-so-slightly longer journeys we now make in Wales.