A “Life Lesson” at an Intersection
A few days ago, I observed what I consider to be one of those “life lessons” we hear about from time to time. I suppose that it would be more accurate to say that I observed something and considered it to be a life lesson.
As I was making my way to see some of our members who are in a nursing home, I noticed that, some distance in front of me, there was a vehicle that was clearly identified as one that belonged to our local sheriff’s department. I don’t know if the sheriff or one of his deputies (or maybe even somebody else from his office) was driving, but there was no doubt about what kind of vehicle it was.
There was also no doubt about what I saw. I watched as the vehicle approached an intersection. This particular intersection is one at which one of our church members was involved in a terrible collision a few years ago. At that time, somebody ignored the same red light as the one this sheriff’s vehicle was approaching. The result that time was that a young husband and two young children lost their wife and mother.
The other day, I watched as the light turned from green to yellow. It did not appear to me that the driver was slowing down at all. I continued to watch as the light turned red before this vehicle “sailed right through the intersection.” The light was just as clearly red as were the clear markings on the vehicle associated with an agency that is supposed to enforce the law.
I have a couple of reasons for thinking that there was no real reason for somebody connected to law enforcement to ignore the law. First, neither the lights nor the siren were ever turned on. Second, the driver must not have saved much time because a few miles later, I saw the same vehicle arriving at a convenience store (again with no lights or siren).
As I watched all of that unfold, I thought about how the behavior of people in positions of authority and/or influence has an impact on others. The immediate thought that went through my mind was something like, “Why should I be concerned about obeying traffic laws when you don’t?” A little more reflection has caused me to think less about the person in the vehicle and more about the guy I see in the mirror.
As I’ve continued to think about the incident and the “life lessons” I’ve come up with, I’ve realized that all of us – to one extent or another – are in positions of authority and/or influence. We may not wear a badge or have some official title, but our behavior does have an impact on others.
I thought about making a list of all of the “hats” I’ve worn and am currently wearing during my lifetime. I’m not really sure I could come up with a complete list. I am really sure, however, that the longer that list would get, the more I would be impressed with the fact that people are watching me. How I do (or do not) act, react, speak, etc. may have more of an impact than I can imagine.
Beyond that, each of us may be having an impact on people we may never know and in ways we do not know. I seriously doubt that the driver of that vehicle even paid attention to the vehicle who was pretty far behind him and in a different lane than the one in which he was driving. He probably was just “going about his day.”
We all do that. We all “just go about our days.” As we do, we may be thoughtlessly giving other people the impression that the rules that apply to them do not apply to us.
To use a “play on words,” all of our lives intersect with other people – usually several times a day. Have you ever thought about what other people see at those intersections?
You may remember that, as Luke is inspired to begin the book we know as “Acts of the Apostles,” he refers to “…all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). I know that I am far from the first to suggest the significance of the order of the two words “do” and “teach.” There are a lot of implications about that order.
I’m also not the first to suggest that there was a perfect harmony in what Jesus did and what He said. There was nothing about Him that “sent mixed signals.”
I’m just suggesting that each one of us would do well to follow the example of the One who went to the cross instead of the one who went to the convenience store.
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
