Putting Others First

As a cyclist, I ought to have sympathy for other cyclists, but this is rarely the case. A few Sundays ago, I drove to chapel rather than pedalled, and was soon detained behind a cyclist for over a mile until he deigned to move in and wave me past. He knew I was there, and there were several places into which he might have moved in without interrupting his travel. For a good while, I was forced to behold his fat, be-spandexed buttocks bobbing from side to side as he waddled up the hill past Kirk Clough.

If that was not bad enough, I was returning home from Clitheroe on the 280 a few days later. As it turned off the A59 towards Bracewell, a pair of elderly cyclists played another trick. Although they ceased riding two abreast, the long bus was unable to overtake the first on account of the short gap between him and the second, and that twisting, turning road forbade our passing. For two long miles did we drive in tow, while our two fellow road users enjoyed the scenery and fresh air at a leisurely pace.

As a cyclist who uses twisty, narrow lanes, I invariably pull in to let cars and motor vehicles pass. Not only is it rather more courteous, but it means I don’t have a heavy vehicle breathing down my neck, every few seconds assessing the risks of trying to overtake. Of course, the cyclist has the right to remain where he is and travel at the pace and speed of which he is capable or which suits his mood, but creating long queues of traffic to his rear seldom improves cyclists’ reputation for arrogance nor their immediate safety, as drivers become tetchy and impatient. Sometimes, it is nobler to relinquish one’s rights and simply give way.

And so in our churches: give way to one another. And if another is in the wrong, let the Lord judge between us in His appointed time. It is the meek who shall inherit the earth, not those who insist on their rightful dues.

That nothing be done through contention or vainglory, but that in meekness of mind every man esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3