I have never driven with a GPS before, mainly because the majority of my driving experience is in Nigeria and I have not had cause to use it there (assuming it works). However though I have been in cars where the GPS was used to get directions, I have never been in a car where two GPS were used at the same time, as was the case on this particular occasion.
Just to provide a background, I was stranded in a town outside Kraków Poland and needed to make my way back to Kraków to attend a program. Providentially I met two priests who were on their way to Kraków to attend the same program. They offered to give me a ride and I joined them.
As the terrain was unfamiliar, they relied on their GPS devices, with each of them holding one each and consulting both to try to get directions to Kraków. For those who are familiar with these devices, the default voice is always that of a female.
As it turned out, both devices provided different directions and eventually they had to choose which one to follow. At this point, one of the priests asked me "Why are women like this? Why don't they usually agree on anything?" I responded thus: "This is what happens when one tries to have two women or follow two women. It just won't work. Choose one and stick by that one and you can be sure that no matter what path she takes you through, you will eventually arrive at your desired destination".
Of course we all laughed at my 'political response' but this got me thinking and for the rest of the journey I observed both GPS devices and I noticed that they were programmed differently.
On the one hand, one was programmed to provide directions only through major roads. She was also very strict and expected you to follow her directions to the letter. She was quite inflexible. If you missed your way, she asked you to make a U-turn to get back on track. She will do this three times and if she was not obeyed, she will literally 'shut up' and leave you to sort yourself out. When you came back to familiar terrain, she will resume her duties.
The second GPS on the other hand was familiar both with major roads and the off-roads. If you didn't follow the direction she had indicated, she will try to understand where you were, recalculate and redirect you to bring you back on track.
At a point, all three of us started wondering which 'programming' was better and for some reason, I started relating these two 'behaviors' with typical human behavior.
To put it in context, if the GPS was a friend you were going on a journey together with, would you prefer a friend who kept silent and 'went off air' when you went off track or would you prefer one who would go off track with you and work with you to come back on track?
Aren't we like that sometimes with our spouses, our friends, our family members, our colleagues and our acquaintances? Do we keep mum when we see things going off-track, waiting for them to come back on track and perhaps not caring if they find their way back or not? Do we adopt an attitude of moral high-handedness saying 'we have played our part and done all we could have done?' Do we know that we live charity when we journey together, forsaking no one and leaving no one behind?
It seems to me that this is one of the key messages of Pope Francis. Sometimes we lose our effectiveness and compassion when we remain aloof and it does not truly show the charity that Christians should be known for. Sometimes circumstances necessitate that we go out and even smell like the sheep if that is what is required to bring them into the sheep fold, and we must not be discouraged if it seems as though our advice is not been heeded. We must keep on, albeit not loosing our identity in the process.
Let us remember that the ultimate goal is to arrive at the expected destination.
Let us remember that the ultimate goal is to arrive at the expected destination.
