Real Men Don't Use Satnavs!

Real men don’t use satnavs.  That’s what I always believed.  We men have a thing about doing it our way; we always think that we know best.  Real men don’t read instructions before they assemble flat pack furniture or try to operate complex electronic equipment and real men don’t need a box in the car telling us when to turn left, or right or to go straight on.  I mean, look at Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear, you never see him using a satnav, though admittedly his co-presenter James May probably ought to buy one.

Real men don’t use satnavs.  I believed this for some time until I was faced with a situation where I thought that having one might actually be quite a good idea.  I had to travel from my home near Blackpool in Lancashire down to the headquarters of the Methodist Diaconal Order in Birmingham.  I had no idea how to get to Diaconal HQ!  In the past I would have used a map or maybe AA Routefinder but I discovered that Diaconal HQ is right in the middle of the city and the idea of trying to navigate through busy Birmingham traffic whilst trying to read a list of instructions did not appeal.  A satnav device seemed the only sensible solution and so I caved in and bought one.

Driving to a destination with which I was unfamiliar using the device was a revelation.  It’s just so easy.  The little box show s you a map of where you are going and gives verbal instructions as to which way to go at any given point on the journey.  I reached Diaconal HQ with no problem and was even early.

I have since used the satnav quite a lot.  It doesn’t always give perfect directions or instructions.  There was the time, for example, when I turned onto the wrong side of a motorway and was ordered, by my satnav, to ‘make an immediate U-turn’.  On a motorway!?!  Another time it tried to take me down a road marked ‘Unsuitable for Vehicular Access’.  Being me I drove down it anyway and just about made it to the other end.  On the whole though buying the satnav has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as it has made car journey a lot easier and a lot more straightforward.

I’m not going to make a direct parallel between Jesus and a satnav because that would be silly.  Jesus is no more the satnav of our lives that he is a squirrel!  But we do need guidance as we live our lives and who better to give us that guidance than the God who created us?  If we try to go our own way in life we will eventually get lost, but if we follow Jesus we will stay on the road that leads to eternal life.

Real men may or may not use satnavs, but real men and women follow Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life!