Lent and the Peltzman Effect

March 17, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
Can feeling safe be bad for you?
 
In 1975, Dr. Sam Peltzman, a University of Chicago economics professor, argued that federal regulations designed to make automobile driving safer actually encouraged riskier driving. In an unexpected response to mandatory seat belts, crush-resistant windshields, and dual braking systems, people drove less safely, because they felt it was potentially less costly for them to do so.  
 
The “Peltzman Effect” was evident in a later British study that measured how close drivers pass by bicyclists who wear helmets, as opposed to those who do not.  The conclusion:  drivers will approach those with helmets more closely, convinced that their helmet alone would lessen the potential damage of a collision.
 
And then there’s Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic:  Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us).  Driving in Spain, where the roads were filled with hairpin turns and few guardrails, he remembered: “I drove as if my life depended on it.”  But when the roads were wider and the traffic was less, he said, “I just about fell asleep and ran off the road … Lulled by safety, I’d acted more dangerously.”  
 
Of course, this is no argument against having such important safety precautions.  But it is a reminder that nothing replaces alertness and vigilance. A false sense of security can lead to destructive errors in judgment.
 
I’m certain Dr. Peltzman never intended his theory to be applied to matters of faith, but the Peltzman Effect applies to our spiritual lives as well.  The more comfortable we are in our faith, the more likely we are to dance on its edge.  The more we rely on God’s grace to forgive us, the more likely we are to test its limits with errant decisions.  
 
That’s why the season of Lent is so important. It calls us to strip away all of our manufactured safety mechanisms that promise comfort but angle us toward disaster:  
 
·     Our false notions of self-reliance that convince us that we are self-made;
·     Our propensity towards avarice that defines our worth by our wealth, and our status by our possessions;
·     Our dependence on political, economic, and military systems to offer a kind of security that only the kingdom of God can provide;
·     Our feelings of self-righteousness that result from being satisfied with the shallowness of our faith, rather than pushing ourselves toward mission, self-sacrifice, and witness to others.
 
Preacher and author A.W. Tozer offered a pointed summary:
 
"The answer is that we are too comfortable, too rich, too contented. We hold the faith of our fathers, but it does not hold us. We are suffering from judicial blindness visited upon us because of our sins. To us has been committed the most precious of all treasures, but we are not committed to it. We insist upon making our religion a form of amusement and will have fun whether or not. We are afflicted with religious myopia and see only things near at hand.  (A.W. Tozer, The Set of the Sail)

In faith, as in driving, comfort can lead to complacency, and feeling protected can lead to pride.  The apostle Paul was right:  What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?

So have you become too comfortable in your faith? Maybe it’s time to introduce some hairpin turns and narrower roads along your spiritual path.  Daily disciplines of prayer, scripture reading, fasting, confession, and service will invite fresh alertness and sobriety in your faith. “Enter through the narrow gate,”  Jesus said,  “for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

This Sunday, join us for our ongoing sermon series “Upside-Down:  How the Cross Changes Everything” as we explore the many ways that following Jesus inverts our preferred ways of thinking, behaving, and relating to others.  Our journey makes a stop in the book of James, which calls us to consider trials and difficulties as opportunities for spiritual maturity and joy.  If you have not done so, visit our website and download the daily scripture reading bookmark, the road map for our Lenten journey.
 
In the words of Mr. Vanderbilt, “Let’s drive as if our lives depended on it.”  Keep awake, and stay alert.
 
Magrey   

 
HELPING HANDS PROGRAM
The newly formed Caring Committee is looking for caring individuals with a desire to help folks in our church in need.   We would like to match your skills and interests with those who contact us for assistance.  Go to the website and click on “Helping Hands.” Print and fill out the survey and bring it to the church or contact Sheree Hausmann (LHSH50@msn.com).  Thank you for putting God’s Love into Action!

YOUTH CAR RALLY THIS SUNDAY
And speaking of driving:  Youth…start your engines!  Join us this Sunday from 4-6pm as we criss-cross through town on a wild and crazy scavenger hunt.  Drivers are needed to help shuttle kids around town.  Call the church office if you are available.