When one of my girls was very little we discussed speeding on the freeway.

An older sibling explained, “Mommy doesn’t want the police to give her a ticket.”

My toddler, who had only found movies or entertainment parks on the other side of tickets, couldn’t understand how a ticket could be a punishment. Avoiding tickets, living in fear of punishment, is no way to live.

Christians are encouraged to love God and their neighbors. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God… You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 12:30-31).

We love as we decide where to park our car. We love as we consider others in how we drive. We love in our patience. We love in our concern. We love because He first loved us. Our acceptance of that causes us to “drive carefully,” not from fear, but because of love.

Living in love helps us avoid those bad tickets. God willing, there will only be pleasant circumstances on the other side of any ticket we do get.

But if there is an occasion when we’ve earned a reprimand, just as King David, Abraham, Moses, and many of our forefathers have, we will apologize, pay up, and strive to walk (or drive) in love once again.