After two days of Los Angeles traffic jams, I'm feeling--to borrow a phrase from soul artist Larry Graham of Graham Central Station--"stomped, beat-up, and whooped."

Yesterday evening, a twenty-mile journey from our hotel to Dodgers Stadium took ninety minutes. Ninety minutes. During which I was cut off and scowled at, flipped off and growled at. Many urban motorists seem to be driven by a sense of urgency, an instinct of self-preservation--perhaps believing a lone parking space remains unoccupied at journey's end, and all but the lucky one will be condemned to endlessly circle the block. In traffic. With a full bladder.

Curiously, the foremost thought in my mind during this contest--well, candidly, the next-to-the-foremost thought in my mind--was the truth spoken by the Apostle Paul, Love "does not seek its own." It's not that these motorists need to learn to drive (okay, the young lady in the gray Toyota needs to learn to drive); rather, they need to learn to love.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act rudely; it does not seek its own, is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged, does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

Three essential truths of this passage are often overlooked.

One, the qualities of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13 form less a prescription ("Here is what you need to do...") and more an assessment ("Is this who you are?").

Two, the love of 1 Corinthians 13 is not a love of our own creation; it is, instead, "the love of God [that] has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5). The qualities of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13 then reflect the depth and quality of our relationship with God.

Three, although a loving relationship with God and neighbor requires surrender, it reciprocates with freedom. Imagine. How much soul-draining energy do we expend in just impatience, self-promotion, seeking our own, righting perceived injustices, and keeping record of being wronged?

So, as I make my way back to the quiet intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 828 in Louisiana, I'd encourage urban motorists to learn to love. And to use their turn signals, for crying out loud.

Do your relationships and social interactions--family and friends, work and play, neighborhood and church, and, yes, acquaintances in traffic--reflect...  

--a spirit of competition; are they distinguished by indifference and selfishness in relationship (the deeds of the flesh; Galatians 5:19-21)? Or...  

--do they reflect a spirit of community; are they distinguished by love and selflessness in relationship (the fruit of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22-23)?

How might others assess how you show up in relationship?

If your relationships and social interactions suggest boasting, challenging, envying--rather than love, joy, peace, patience, et al.--where's the place within awaiting transformation?