how do I handle power?

Anger, Retaliation, and my Scion xB

Anger, Retaliation, and my Scion xB

I drive a little manual 2005 Scion xB that just eclipsed 195,000 miles. I love that little car. It’s fuel-efficient and requires minimal maintenance. And it’s close to the least powerful car on the road. I’m pretty sure on its specs next to 0-60mph it says, “Eventually!”

Unless I’m lined up against someone from a nearby retirement community (sorry, some stereotypes are true), I’m going to be the last car to reach the speed limit coming off a stoplight.

Temptation

Unsurprisingly, more aggressive drivers with more powerful vehicles tend to treat my little Scion like a safety cone in the road, they treat me more like an obstacle than a fellow traveler. They zip past me and cut me off as they speed to their destination. More than I would care to admit, my sense of justice and frustration with unsafe drivers slides into sinful anger. There have been more than a few times I have been tempted to cut off a driver in retaliation.

But I don’t.

Sometimes that is because I am pricked with quick repentance and shift a posture of mercy.

Sometimes that is because I drive a Scion xB.

Temptation and Power

Even if I wanted to retaliate, I don’t have the means to retaliate. My little four-cylinder can’t chase down those high-powered vehicles.

I’m so grateful for my under-powered Scion. It has protected me from my own sin on more than a few occasions.