There. That'll Fix It.

No one speaks as we drive to school in the morning. We're all tired. We have to get up at 5:30 am if we want to be able to shower, get ready, have a coffee, pack a lunch, and get out the door by 6:34 on the dot. (That seems to be the magic time, pulling out of our street each day.)  Most of us were sensible enough to get to bed by 9:30 and rack up a full-night's sleep. But I know at least two of us didn't get to bed until 10:30 or later. (I'm like my mom in more than one way!)

As we drive on the four-lane highway into town, the overall slope of the land has us going downhill. We approach Terramall on our right, an enormous mall with a movie theater, food-court, plenty of shops, a pet store, and an enormous outdoor terrace complete with a fountain and plenty of restaurants taking advantage of the wonderful mountainside view. 

The mall is big enough in fact, that the two right lanes suddenly turn into four to accommodate mall traffic and the busses that stop to collect their passengers.

One would think that two extra highway lanes would be enough to satisfy the extra traffic demands on this small stretch of thoroughfare. However, in true Costa Rican fashion, those who regulate such things as these thought an additional speed reduction would be necessary for this 1/10 mile length of pavement. So for a small fraction of a mile, the cars that were once traveling at a comfortable 90 kilometers per hour (about 56 mph) must reduce their speed to a maximum of 60 kmph (about 37 mph). 

As I look right, those extra two lanes sit unused. The mall is closed.  And we're going 37mph.  

Actually, even when the mall is open, we're still going 37mph for mall traffic that does not take up anything close to two lanes.  

This classic example of Costa Rican law at work is one of many images I hope to leave in your mind of the unparalleled body that is the Costa Rican Bureaucracy.

***

Actually, I only want you to know that Costa Rican traffic laws just don't work.

***

So where was I? Oh yes. 37mph. 

Well, to tell the truth, I lied about 37mph. 

37mph is the speed limit. But that's not what we're driving, not 'till recently anyway. That's not what anybody's driving! Everybody's driving 56mph because it's faster, but mainly because traffic laws in Costa Rica don't really apply to how you drive.  


(That...makes sense...right? ...Okay, maybe not.)

It's not like laws don't exist in the Costa Rican transportation sector. They do. In fact, making new laws is one of their favorite things to do. They are just very, very poorly enforced.  (In fact, the incompetence of the Costa Rican police-force as a whole never ceases to astound me.)  That is to say, though the traffic laws written down somewhere on paper might closely resemble North American traffic laws, on the real road, most are practically non-existent.

For example, the law says not to drive on the shoulder of the road, yet as we continue on our way to school, the right lane is occupied by two stopped rows of cars, taking advantage of the broad shoulder that exists there, each trying to have the right of way as they all turn right.

In the faster moving left lane, a jerk who's more important than the rest of us cuts to the front of the intersection and then attempts a perpendicular merge into the stand-still traffic in the right lane.

The highway ends in a T, turning into a 2-lane road (another brilliant Costa Rican feat of engineering), built when there were half as many cars in the country. Cars turning left off the highway immediately encounter another intersection (No like, immediately. Like, as soon as you turn.) that is set at an angle, making it more like a 7-way intersection.

A single police officer reports to duty on week mornings to straighten out this 7-way intersection.

There's a bus that comes every morning that needs to turn left across the second, odd intersection, only to find that his way is blocked by another lane of stand-still traffic. One block to our right is a stop-light, which does little to help the situation, because no one in the country seems to know how to synchronize stop lights. (Also funny is the fact that it seems the traffic light that was meant for our intersection was stupidly located one block away.  But that's a whole 'nother blog post.)

The kind police-woman who is watching our intersection does nothing about the turning bus, which now sits blocking a whole lane of traffic, because he can't turn. The people blocking his way can't go anywhere because of the well-placed traffic light two blocks down.  The police-woman kindly waits until the light two blocks down turns green, and lets the situation play itself out. No one in the oncoming left lane is willing to wait and let the bus in, so he must inch his way toward the solid line of cars until someone is forced to either let him in or be crushed.

We have literally sat for almost ten minutes as a single bus attempts to make the hardest turn of his entire route.  But eventually the bus makes it through, and everyone cheers, but only for an instant, because they soon must resume their fight for the right to drive on the road.

It's chaos.

It's all just chaos.

Even with a police officer present, people are not concerned with the law or about others, but only about getting themselves where they need to go, regardless of the cost to those around them. Police officers rarely serve any purpose in traffic besides acting as miniature traffic lights themselves, which at least allows traffic to move somewhat. But other than that, I look around and see a system in which any "rules" that existed before are pushed to the back of the mind.  They're the elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge.

The problem in Costa Rica is not that we lack rules. It's not that there are no laws here that dictate how people should drive on the roads. And it's not that people aren't smart or simply don't know. The problem is that society as a whole, at least in regards to driving, has no reason to follow any rules given to them telling them how to drive, and that Law Enforcement has no motivation to make them want to enforce the law.

And so as a result, lawmakers resort to very silly, very exaggerated measures to try to solve this problem of total indifference to the law/lack of law enforcement.

It's much like trying to loose weight by going on a cookie diet when in reality your real problem is not that you are overweight, it's that you have a very bad habit of overeating.  If you go on your diet, then not only are you not attacking the right problem, you're attacking the wrong problem the wrong way anyway.  If anything, at the end you'll be less healthy and even more inclined to eat. And you never find out why you're still fat.

Having lived here for seven years, I can't tell you how how perfect of an example this is!

The problem with the laws here is that people don't have a reason to follow them, and police don't have a reason to enforce them.  Legislature likes to look at a situation, pick out an individual symptom of the actual problem, and pound it into the ground.

Take the most recent example of this behavior:

As we pass by the mall at more than 37mph, we now have an new set of eyes that are watching us. At a very specific point, just past the mall, the government has installed two speed cameras that are programmed to take anyone's picture going over 80 kmph. (That's 20 kmph leeway.)

These little guys have apparently been installed at strategic places all over the country, though they must not really be that concerned with catching all the speeders, because our cameras are only trained on traffic going one direction.

The new speed cameras are a living testimony to the efficiency of the Bureaucracy. Upon taking a photo of your speeding car, you instantly receive a $600+ fine.  Following logic, your ticket is mailed to you so that you know you were speeding and have a pending fine to pay.

––Wait, did I say they did things logically? Oh, I'm sorry!  I meant to say that instead of notifying you that you have a $600 fine to pay, they publish your license-plate number once in a government newspaper that nobody buys! This fine begins to collect interest after two months if you don't pay it completely off, which is stupid, because $600 is easily a month's salary for many Costa Ricans. That means that, unless you start buying this newspaper every single day, you will more than likely never realize you have a ticket, and then at the end of they year, when your vehicle must pass inspection, you realize you have a fine for the average American's equivalent of $3000 that the government never told you about!

La Nación, the national newspaper, reported that the very first 16 hours, the government handed out 1,803 tickets.

However, in my opinion, there is no way on this EARTH that  1,803 people a day are going to pay a month's salary for a speeding ticket.

What's more, avoiding the cameras is cheap and easy.  So why wouldn't people do it?!  A simple clear plastic license plate cover is all it takes to prevent a clear picture.  In response, the government imposed a $60 fine for anyone found with an illegal cover on their plates. But if you had to choose between a $60 and a $600 fine, which would you pick?!  


And thus, the cameras will be thwarted. The people with tickets will complain and refuse to pay, and the government will be forced to go back on their plan and start from scratch.


Personally, I think the whole situation's hilarious and hopelessly pathetic.

The problem is that there is no law enforcement. Seriously. It doesn't exist. Traffic police are non-existent, with the exception of those that stand at busy intersections directing traffic. And I doubt they even have the power to arrest someone if they decided to blow the red light! They certainly couldn't chase you down. (Most don't even have working cars, and would never leave their post for a single person.) The only sort of traffic stops are rare and checkpoint-style. And on top of that, people just don't care!

But instead of fixing law enforcement, we've attacked speeding very poorly.

It just doesn't work! Speeding is the least of the country's problems!

Of course, the obvious thing to say is that if you don't speed, then you don't have to worry about it!  But that's not my point.

My point is this:

There is a problem. And we know it. But we're refusing to try to fix it.  Because it's easier to turn a blind eye to the problem than to try and remedy it.  Because we've grown complacent with the problem, and we've resorted to fake measures to adopt the appearance that we want to fix it.  Because to fix the problem would mean less comfort. To fix the problem would mean giving up freedoms. To fix the problem would require sincere effort and a complete change in lifestyle.

So we turn a blind eye, and we just don't fix it.

And in Costa Rica's case (and in a gazillion other countries), it's how it's always been. In the end, the country will continue on how it always had, with nobody enforcing traffic laws, everybody breaking them, and every man driving for themselves.  And it will be chaos. It will all be chaos.

And so I ask, what problems are you not fixing?


ZJK (Ima' start including a nifty signature now! I hope you think I'm really cool.) 

***



*UPDATE*

I've gone back and researched my facts, and it will have to be something I learn to do from now on.  I had heard and mistakenly wrote that 6,000 tickets were handed out the first day.  However, I was not responsible and did not check my facts.  I've now gone back and figured out that, in fact, there were only 1,815 people had received fines for going 20kmph or more over the speed limit.

It also is worth saying that, although my post does satirize the actions of the Costa Rican government, I must retract the statement I made where I said that "No one tries to fix the pressing problems in society."  This is partly true because of our human nature, but I can't fairly say that about every government, least of all about Costa Rica's government. We all like to poke fun at government endeavors that seem doomed to fail, and my point about recognizing problems and not being willing to fix them can still stands and can still be applied to our lives (if not with this example, then with other problems that can be found in our society), but I kind of feel bad saying that these cameras are a weak and futile effort.

Yes, I think there are way smarter ways that officials could have thought of to notify people that they had an outstanding fine, and yes, I still think that a minimum fine of a month's salary for many people is absolutely ridiculous.  However, the endeavor does represent a desire to improve  Costa Rica's traffic conditions, contrary to what I had said before—that lawmakers were essentially trying to rid themselves of the responsibility of fixing the problem.

I must therefore give them credit where credit is due.

According to La Nación, Francisco Jiménez, minister of Transportation in Costa Rica, said himself they know the fines are high-pressure, but that that's the whole point of installing the cameras, to create a very strong incentive for drivers to change their driving habits, slow down, and avoid a strong blow to their purses. 

He was quoted as saying, "At first there are going to be a lot of fines, but as the days go by, drivers will  get used to and start recognizing monitored areas, and from that moment on is when the number of fines will begin to level off."

So perhaps these traffic cameras do not represent such a naïve effort.  But I still don't think they will work. 

ZJK

(You can read the article form La Nación, in Spanish, here: http://www.nacion.com/2011-09-09/ElPais/Camaras--hicieron-en-16-horas-multas-de-velocidad-de-un-mes.aspx

Stagnant Water

Is your faith real?

C'mon. Is it?

How do you know? What makes it real? What makes you sure that the faith you have saves you? Can you tell me right now why? How do you know? When did you realize it? C'mon, tell me!  Just say it!

Do you know your faith is real? How? Why?


Here's a better question: Have you ever even thought about it?

You know what? I'd be willing to bet that for a good part of you, the answer's no.

Don't lie to yourself, now. If the answer's yes, then you know, and you probably already see where I'm going with this. But for a lot of you out there, especially if you're my age, don't fool yourself. You haven't even thought about how you can live out your faith, if it's even there. Or maybe you have, but you've since dismissed it, reasoning that you'll have time later to think about it and make sure things are real. I'll get things under control later.  It'll just come to me. I'm sure I've got faith. I really don't know what else I can do but just keep doing whatever it is I'm doing and just wait. It'll come. I know it will.

If this is your reality regarding, then you know what I mean when I say you feel like your faith is stagnant.

But doesn't "stagnant faith" imply that you can have non-stagnant faith if you want?!  Doesn't it mean that there's something more you could be doing with your faith?! Yes! Yes, it means that your faith isn't at its full potential!

It means you're not living it out all the way.

To have a real, ongoing, give-and-take, saving relationship with Christ, there must be a point in your life when your faith is real, and it's here, and it's now, and it's yours, and you're doing it.  


You've gotta' own it. This realization, the owning of your faith, making it yours, must  happen. It has to!  This is the total idea of the phrase, "God doesn't have grandchildren."  If you grew up in the Church, you've heard, "It can't be your parents' faith! You've gotta' make it yours!"  This always made me so  angry because I had to say, "Yeah, yes, of course.  Oh of course it must be my own faith. Oh yes, it's mine, definitely not my parents'."  but I never knew what it meant!  They never explained it to me!

And you know what guys, I think that this, to this day, is most Christians are still missing. And as far as that goes, let me present my observation/theory:

The average Christian life never moves past mediocre.

 It's TRUE!  MOST people never move past mediocrity! And it's what everyone who has the real deal hates to see!  I know because for all five years of my Christian life, MY faith has been mediocre!  And if you don't know what in the world I'm talking about, then your life has probably never moved past that very first infant-like stage! And that's just not gonna' cut it!

And thus comes my question, "Why?!"  Why is it that for five years I never understood what a relationship with Christ was supposed to be like, and then all of a sudden I just got it?  Why could I suddenly understand the imperative need to appropriate my faith, and make it mine and no one else's?  Where was that feeling for five years? And why does it seem that none but a few other people my age seem to have had the same realization?  

To answer my first question, it's because I wanted to.  Something in me desperately wanted to taste "the real deal", and I didn't have any idea how to do it. I have no idea when this desire hit me, but somewhere along the line, I had to have started taking seriously the idea that the Christian life was just that: A life. A new life. And other than an understanding that I was now supposed to be "saved" and living a different kind of life, I wasn't living any differently. Other than knowing I was supposed to lead a different kind of life, I wasn't living any differently.  

HEllo!

Do we not hear all of our lives that a life of faith looks different than a life without it? And yet, looking at yourself honestly, without being ashamed, ask yourself, is there anything different about your life other than the fact that you go to a Church on Sundays that distinguishes you from the non-Christians around you? 

Maybe you don't swear, but do you still disrespect your parents? Guys, maybe you're not having sex, but are you still looking at porn? Girls, maybe you're not anorexic, but do you lack self-esteem? Maybe you're not a popular jerk, but are you puffed up with pride?

Think about it. Tell me if you don't look at non-Christians and feel like in some small way you're better than them. I know I sure do. That's pride. That's self-centeredness. That's putting other people down for the sole purpose of feeling better about yourself.

The Bible makes it clear that sin is sin! It doesn't make a difference if you kill someone or if you only wish they were dead. It's all the same. You're just as guilty.  

So with that in mind, what makes you different?! 


You see? Some of us truthfully aren't living any differently than a "good person" might that is outside of Christ. And Christ makes it clear that when we have fellowship with Him, when we have a legitimate relationship with Jesus, people will be able to tell that we are His disciples.

But if nobody can tell the difference between you and a good person, what good is that?

Well, in all honesty, I can't say what'll fly and what won't when it comes down to it.  After all, if a person accepts Christ into their hearts at one time, and then continues to lead a "fairly good" life by human standards, showing no real change, but "Christian" nonetheless, who am I to say their decision to follow Christ was worthless? I cannot judge the heart. I'm only human. Ultimately, God is the only one who knows the heart.

However, the Bible does have a few things to say about our faith (fyi, I'm using the words "faith" and "relationship with Christ" almost interchangeably in this post, even though that's probably not correct. Oh well!), and I want to lay two out right here.  In James 2:17 and in John 13:35 we read that

1. Faith without works is dead, and
2. People will know we are God's disciples by our love.

In other words, when we're following Christ, it should be glaringly obvious to others! True faith in Christ produces obvious external signs! It's called "fruit"! You can't be in Christ and have it make no difference in your life. It's just not possible!

And so I say again, if your life bears no signs that you have chosen to follow a path that's different from the rest of the world, then you aren't moving down that path! 

C'mon guys, how many ways can I say it?  It's what we were told at least once a month in Sunday school. It's what we heard all the time in Junior High church service. 

You've gotta' make your faith your own. 

Own it! Dominate it! 

You'll never be able to tell me that your faith is real until it actually belongs to you and you are doing it every single day.

I seriously have no idea how else to put it. 

Your. Faith. Must. Be. Real.  

You. Must. Live. Your faith.

You must make a point to live it every. single. day. Or else it's just gonna' get away form you.

Dudes, there's no other way to put it.  If you accepted Christ a long time ago, but you're just not feeling it, you don't really know what you're doing, you write on important lists that Jesus is your main priority, but in the end your "faith" has always just kind of "been there", then you JUST AREN'T LIVING IT!  


You've gotta' live it. You've gotta' want it. You've gotta' truly, deeply desire the Truth. You've gotta' thirst for it. You've gotta' crave wisdom. You've gotta' want more, and more, and more, and never stop wanting it. 


And so now I want to challenge you.  If you feel like your Christian life has become stagnant, like it's just sitting there, then I want to motivate you.  I want to motivate you to try and want it.  I want you to want the real deal. I want for you to want the knowledge. To want to know your Bible. To want to learn so much more about Jesus than you could have ever imagined! To want to learn somehting about Him every day. To want to get better and better, never stopping. Never being satisfied with "good enough".

To want it. For reals. To strive for it, to try to establish regular habits, and then with time, to see that it's working! To grow.  To grow and grow and grow and never stop.

Do you get me?

God always wants us. He always does.  But He's a gentleman.  If we want to move into a deeper relationship with Him, He wants it too! But if we're comfortable right where we are, and we never consciously decide to move on past the introductory phase and into the real deal, into what Christ wanted for us all along, then He doesn't force it. I'm not saying it won't cut it. God knows. But if you don't ever decide to move on into the best relationship you will ever have in your entire life, then you're cheating yourself.

So,

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Let us throw off all our mediocrity. Let us throw off our fear of what will happen if we actually decide to follow Jesus. Let us throw off every desire to simply stay right where we are, on the fence, gazing out at the green pastures and cool waters that can be ours if we'd only decide to start putting our faith into practice.

Let us read the Word. Let us pray constantly. If you're wondering how in the world it is that you even start living out a life of faith in Jesus Christ, do these two things. Read your Bible, and I promise, even if you don't want to at first, it will change your life. Just do it! Give it a try for once!  And then do it the next day, and the next, and the next. And pray! At first you may feel really silly or uncomfortable just sitting down and praying, but do it! Thank God for everything in your life, good and bad! Give him praise! Ask Him to increase your faith, to help you grow it! To help you desire it more! He won't fail you. He already knows what it is you want and need. Just tell Him!

Read your Bible! Pray! Just do it, and I promise it will work. You won't regret it once you decide to start living for Jesus for real.

Do it. You won't regret it.