December 28, 2025 
by M. Regina Cram
This story happened a long time ago. A really long time ago. My kids told me to say that.
“Mom, can’t you drive faster?” groaned the frustrated teenager in the back seat. I told him I was going 65, which was the speed limit.
“But nobody drives the speed limit!” he complained.
I was sympathetic. One could easily drive 75 or 80 on such an open stretch of highway, but God instructs us to obey the law with the same obedience we render to Him.
The kid recognized a juicy argument when he saw it. “A police officer visited our class. He said they don’t pull people over unless they’re going at least 75,” he asserted. “That means it’s okay to go 75. Sixty-five is just a guideline.”
This kid has a future as a criminal defense attorney. “No, 65 is the law,” I stated. “You may not get ticketed for driving faster, but that doesn’t make it okay. We’re called to be honest even if nobody notices.”
The teenager in the front seat piped up gleefully. “Well, what if the law tells you to do something bad? What if we’re forbidden to go to church?” She was sure she had me cornered.
“Then we disobey and bear the consequences,” I explained. “Our first allegiance is always to God. That’s why Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den when he wouldn’t pray to a false god, and why Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. Those laws were evil. A highway speed of 65 is not evil. It’s just annoying.”
Points scored for Mom. As I smugly congratulated myself for excellent parenting skills, the worst possible thing happened: a police car passed me. On the right. No lights, no sirens. Just driving too fast. Say, about 75 mph.
Eagle Eye in the back seat snatched the opportunity. “Mom, look!” he hollered. “That police guy is speeding! That means it’s okay!”
“No, that means the police officer is breaking the law,” I sighed.
“How can a policeman break the law?” a younger kid ventured.
“Police have to obey laws like everyone else,” I explained.
A gloomy silence descended over the seat belts. Poor kids. With all the mothers in the world, they had to pick me.
Several years later, an offspring with a Learners Permit was driving, and I was in a hurry. “Can’t you speed it up?” I whined.
“I’m driving the speed limit, Mom. I’m not allowed to drive faster,” she stated.
“But the speed limit is too slow! It won’t hurt to go a little faster,” I urged.
“Mom, I can’t,” she insisted. “My driving teacher says I’ll flunk my license test if I drive even one mile over the speed limit. Besides, you taught me to obey the law.”
Nuts. It’s so much easier to preach righteousness than it is to live it. It’s also easier when you’re not in a hurry.
M. Regina Cram is a published author and a parishioner of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish.
