Ridesharing: Driven to Serve

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Mark 10:42-45 42

Becoming a slave to all.

That means being a slave/servant to everyone: to the people you respect, but also to the ones whose lifestyle choices are the opposite of everything you stand for.

How can you stand firmly AGAINST them and yet still be their SLAVE??

Many rideshare pax (that's rideshare-driver lingo for passengers) are headed out for an evening and want to be able to drink whatever they want and not have to think about staying sober enough to drive home.

I’m generally opposed to drunkenness and carousing, as the older versions of the Bible call it. But I’m even more opposed to drunkenness and driving. By giving these folks a ride to their night on the town, I’m acting as their servant. I’m showing my love and concern for their well being (and for the well being of others) by being an integral part of their safe-drinking plans.

Now, I do have limits.

9 PM is when the demand for rideshare starts to really pick up, staying high for the next 5-6 hours, until all the night owls have been driven home safely from the bars.

I’ve chosen not to be an active rideshare driver late at night. Nobody wants me behind the wheel at 2 AM. I’m generally home around 9 PM, when I’m starting to become too tired to drive safely.

I'm also content to let someone else can be their servants at that end of their night on the town. My son also used to drive for rideshare and he was usually starting his rideshare night around the time I was shutting off the app and heading for home. He’s 30 years younger and has always been a night owl. Plus, his day job was as a corrections officer with a county sheriff’s department, so dealing with a few drunks is nothing new for him.

I'm also not going to let pax behave in a way that isn't reasonable or safe (or legal). In my first few weeks driving, I've learned to say No to pax who think I should be willing to let them do whatever they please. I told one group of pax that were headed to a wedding that no, they could not bring their open containers of alcohol with them. Not only is that illegal in Columbia, it's not something I want to be part of.

Driving for rideshare is good way to learn to be a servant to people I might otherwise avoid being around in my normal daily life. Whether the trips are conversation-filled or quiet rides that offer people-watching opportunities, I learn a little about what makes them tick.

People who choose to live differently than me are not, as my son called them when he was little, “those bad people.” Yes, some of what they do is bad, perhaps even evil. But observing them closely shows me the complexity and contradictions in their lives.

I'm also reminded, over and over again, that I too am“one of those bad people.” I behave badly on a daily basis. Sometimes I’m downright evil. I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

I’m generally better at hiding my evil thoughts and lifestyle choices than many of my pax. But being a respectably religious evil person is not better than being a brazenly non-religious evil person.

By seeing myself as very much like my pax, traveling the same rough roads with them, I’m able to humbly serve them. I'm hopefully helping them to wake up to yet another morning and enjoy yet another opportunity to consider the glorious evidence of yet another sunrise.