As our children were working their way through high school, I provided them with our old family car, a Toyota Camry with over 200,000 miles. It wasn’t flashy, but it beat riding the school bus. They all drove cautiously, knowing that if the car was wrecked, it was back to the bus.
One day I happened to use this car for a trip to the store and noticed that when I turned it on, the engine oil light came on. The reliable Camry was starting to burn oil. After adding a few quarts of oil, I asked one of the kids if he had noticed the oil gauge light up on the car’s dashboard. “Yeh,” he replied, “but it goes out after a while, so I ignored it.”
Our story would not happen today because newer cars have built-in warning redundancy. If the light on the gauge is ignored, a message lights up. If that fails, an irritating beep soon follows and remains annoying until the warning is heeded.
Our lives, like our cars, have a dashboard with gauges, information, and warning systems. The most familiar one is our physical gauge. Have you ever noticed that when senior citizens get up from a restaurant table, we stand there for a few minutes before moving to the exit? The reason is that we are doing a full body scan, checking all the body parts to see that what was working when we sat down is still working when we stand up. The warnings may come as a simple “ouch” from a stiff knee to a paralyzing ache. Sometimes the warning is subtle, but if ignored over time (like the oil light), it can result in major damage.
These gauges on our dashboards are designed to give us an early warning of potential problems. The sooner we respond, the better the outcome. The gauge itself is not the problem; it simply tells us where to look for the problem. Over time we have learned to check our car’s dashboard each time we start the car. Most of the time the warning alerts us to an action that needs to be taken but not immediately. “Tire pressure low.” “Time for an oil change.” Scheduled maintenance usually minimizes the need for warnings.
Our soul and spirit also have warning gauges on our life’s dashboard. They are less familiar but equally important. If we learn to read them, we will be less likely to find our soul in the repair shop. Checking our life dashboard daily as we pull out of the driveway is a wise practice. I have found that the best way to give attention to my “soul and spirit dashboard” is to have my “daily appointment with God” (DAWG).
Here are some of the gauges on our life’s dashboard.
1. Physical Gauge: Comfort vs. pain indicator
2. Soul gauges
Mental: Clarity vs. Confusion indicator
Emotional: Peace vs. Anxiety indicator
Volitional: Willing vs resistant indicator
3. Spiritual Gauge: Close vs. distant indicator
Soul gauges
We must regularly check three sets of gauges: body, soul, and spirit. The body or physical gauge is like our speedometer, which is the largest and easiest to read, while the gauges for the soul are less obvious. Here are some questions that can help us check our soul gauges.
1. Mental gauge: Is there a problem I am wrestling with? Have I said something that bothers me? Am I trapped in a cycle of thinking that I can’t break out of?
2. Emotional gauge: Is there a relationship that is fractured? Is there an issue that makes me anxious? What emotion is currently the strongest?
3. Volitional gauge: Is there a decision I am avoiding? Have I done something that needs resolution?
One of the benefits of a DAWG is that it allows us to invite God into our current felt needs. The daily “check the dashboard” is not the time for in-depth Bible study but rather an opportunity to identify our current issues and invite God to speak to us and give his guidance.
Spirit gauge
As a child in God’s family, this gauge monitors how close we are to Christ relationally. It is our “abiding” gauge (John 15:5). Our appointment with God allows us to read this gauge and strengthen our relationship with Christ.
The story of Mary and Martha entertaining Jesus (see Luke 10:38-42) is a great picture of checking the dashboard. Martha’s anxiety gauge was “red lining.” Jesus: “Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” What she needed was not more serving but soul food. On the other hand, Mary chose to take the opportunity to sit at the feet of the Great Rabbi and listen to his words.
With the touch of his Spirit, we should regularly and intentionally monitor the condition of our soul and spirit in Christ’s presence. David expressed it this way, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalms 139:23-24).
Checking the dashboard is a daily practice that enables us to be honest with ourselves and God. This vulnerability invites God to step into our needs with his power. David was convinced of this, as the Psalms indicate. He is often brutally honest with God about the condition of his soul but then turns to God, asking for his guidance and strength.
To be honest and vulnerable with God is not frightening when we remember Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd, not the Good Sheriff. He understands, accepts, and embraces us even in our dark times. He also directs us to handle issues correctly: in a God-honoring way. Just as we need to pay attention to our car dashboard, we need to pay attention to the dashboard of our souls and respond accordingly. We take care of our souls by utilizing all the resources God provides.
For Reflection
1. What soul gauge are you most in tune with? Why?
2. What are other possible dashboard gauges of our soul and spirit?
Ron, I’ve heard the warning lights on the dash referred to as “idiot” lights.
“Idiot light (plural idiot lights) (automotive, slang) Any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver to problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.”
“The derisive term comes from the fact that such lights typically take the place of a gauge, meter or other indicator that can provide more substantive and detailed information. The binary (on/off) nature of the light is considered inferior to an indicator which provides data on the condition, but which requires some interpretive thought by the operator.)
“Get the manual out of the glove box so I can look-up what that idiot light that just came on means.”
Yes! Get out the manual – the Bible!