Engine running, car in drive.

I was sitting in a fire lane waiting for my wife to come out of the store.  I was right by a sign that said, “No Stopping or Standing.”

Of course, there I was in my car wondering (not really) if I were included in this signs audience.  I quickly surmised that, in fact, I was not in violation of the signs directive because I (1) had not stopped the engine, and (2) had the car in drive.

My foot was on the brake, which was keeping me from actually driving, but I had not put the car in “park.”

I concluded that “parking” required that the car both be in “park” and the engine stopped; that “standing” meant that the car was in “park”, but the engine was on; and that “stopping” referred to the engine.

My defense, where the judge to be called…

If I were driving through the parking lot in front of the sign and a person walked in front of the car, what would be the legal thing to do?

Certainly it wouldn’t be to run the person over.  It would require that I hit the brake, thus stopping the car’s motion.  However… the engine would be running and the car would be in drive, and I would be in the car.  Therefore, by being in the car, with the car engine on, the car in “drive”, and my foot on the brake I was clearly not in violation of the sign.

And that is Pharisee reasoning 101.

We can argue the letter of the law all day, perhaps even being let off because we could prove that our interpretation of the law was valid. We can even wonder who put the sign there and if they had a right.

At the end of the day, we have to be ready to give an account… and the One to Whom we give that account looks at the motive.

The Law of Grace would say, “You can sit here in your car with the engine running, with the car in
“drive”, and your foot on the brake all day if you want.  Or you can park in that spot over there and come into the store, take everything you need and hand me the bill.  The choice is yours.”

SDG