Don’t Tell Me What To Do!

Now, don’t worry, this isn’t about Obama, Washington, Garrison Keillor, or a 3-year-old’s tantrum.  It’s about a GPS.

(Now, before I go any further, I must give this disclaimer: I don’t own a GPS, haven’t really used one before, nor am I in law enforcement or have a degree in Criminal Justice.  So, I’m a pretty reliable and credible source, at least by Left Coast standards.)

My wife, Becky, and I like to watch The Office, and there was one episode where Michael Scott puts his full trust in a GPS.  I honestly feel this is how people use their GPS.

Where are the days of using folded paper maps to find your way, paying more attention to the maps than to the road?  Where is the surprise of unexpected road construction or getting stuck in a 60-mile-long traffic jam? .

My wife just came in and told me that her mom had to wait until her dad came back with the GPS before they could do some more garage sale-ing — there are some new roads in town that aren’t even on Google Maps.  Where are the days of just driving for a half hour trying to find something?  I’d rather do that — it’s a lost art form these days, I tell you!

It’s only aided men in having another reason not to stop for directions.  Now we can blame the GPS for getting us lost — and we still won’t stop for directions!

As I said earlier, I don’t own a GPS.  It’s against my religion.  I spent all my childhood studying and drawing highway and city maps.  I even got a degree in Cartography from Rand McNally University (in theory — I’m still trying to Google a way to get an imaginary one).  Why would I waste 15-20 years studying to just have an obnoxious voice tell me what to do every five seconds?  ”Go straight. Go straight. Go straight. Recalculating. Go straight for a fortnight….”  I would rather have my wife chastise me for forgetting to tell her that I bought a Blu-Ray player, a Kitchen Aid, or sold our car.

So, what’s my point?  I said this wasn’t going to be about Washington, and it honestly wasn’t, until I got to this point and wondered what my point in writing this was.  We as a society are getting accustomed with hearing where we should go, what we should do, what we should like, all starting with the GPS.  While it’s certainly not wrong to take advice and instruction, we also need to think critically and evaluate the consequences of our actions.  Just because someone has already done it or we’re told to do it (like this video of someone being like Michael Scott, except they don’t have a GPS, they need a haircut and something to do, and they probably don’t even own a TV to watch The Office — I think I heard one expletive in the background, so think critically before you click the link — ), doesn’t negate our responsibility “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Joel 6:8)

Just a random thought I had this morning while I was getting ready.  I hope it helps.  And I probably need to take some medication.