Jesus, Take the Wheel

In 2005, former American Idol contestant Carrie Underwood had a hit song called “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which I hadn’t heard until today. Has anyone paid attention to the lyrics? I have and they’re ridiculous.

The song is about a woman who is driving too fast during a blizzard. She skids on some ice and starts screaming for Jesus to take control of the steering wheel so she doesn’t die. While the car is still out of control, she lets go of the wheel and somehow, the car magically pulls over to the shoulder and comes safely to a stop. The woman thanks Jesus and promises she’ll treat people better from now on.

There’s only one problem. This woman knows she’s a jerk and that it’s impossible for her to treat people nicely on her own, so she asks Jesus to take control of her entire life too, just like he did with her car.

Instead of learning her lesson about driving recklessly, the only thing the woman has learned is that whenever she does something stupid, Jesus will bail her out. That’s a great message to send to people. “Act like a moron. It’s okay. Jesus will protect you.”

The last thing people need is an excuse to be even more thoughtless and irresponsible than they already are. Way to go, Carrie Underwood.