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why progressive’s snapshot annoys me

In buying our house, we found out we could save money on our home owner’s insurance by bundling it with our car insurance.  Not only was it cheaper, but since we were able to stick with Progressive, it made the process even simpler.

There’s was only one catch: as part of the new policy, we are required to use Progressive’s Snapshot device for thirty days.  In case you don’t know, it’s designed to plug into your car’s computer and uploads a record of your driving patterns.

Before plugging in Snapshot, I was perfectly comfortable with my driving patterns.  I stopped before hitting the car in front of me.  But noooooo, that’s not good enough for Snapshot.  I get penalized if I stop too fast — Snappy (that’s my pet name for this annoying device) beeps three times to let me know I could have stopped more gently.

And it’s always my fault.  It doesn’t matter if the car in front of me stops suddenly — I should have been further back.

Snappy has made me think of the Bible.

Maybe this is why some folks get annoyed at the Bible — it’s trying to correct our driving patterns.  It beeps when our words cross the line.  It beeps when our mind entertains thoughts it shouldn’t entertain.

Before reading the Bible, we might have been perfectly fine with our driving patterns.  We didn’t hit anybody.  We never went too far.  We could stop any time we wanted to.

The goal of Snappy is not simply to annoy me; it is to teach me how to be a better driver.

The same is true of the Bible.  God’s Word was written not to put a damper on life but to lead us to experiencing real life.

Maybe it’s time you plugged into the Bible on a daily basis.  But be warned: the beeps might annoy you at first.