We've Lost Our Way

I can never remember the day when I was in so much of a hurry to go somewhere or get something done I had put others around me in danger. I believe I’ve practiced safety and respect my whole life, but I’ll bet there were times I didn’t. I guess with age and maturity we naturally tend to slow down, I mean, what’s the hurry? How fast do I want to get to my own funeral? You know what they say about a busy person, “He’ll be late for his own viewing.” Well anyway, have you noticed over the past several years how people don’t have time to stop, even at STOP signs? I remember a driver’s education campaign years ago promoting “defensive driving”. Now maybe I’m being picky here, but normally the defensive team does everything it can to stop the offensive team from reaching its goal, right? So, when I’m driving to the grocery store am I on the defensive team or the offensive team? I tend to think offensive, but it seems lately everyone else is driving defensively attempting to prevent me from reaching my goal, the grocery store. Hey, all I’m saying is red lights and stop sings are what they mean, STOP! It seems the “California Stop”, slow down but don’t relinquish any territory, is epidemic and a lot of drivers are entering intersections with no respect for their fellow travelers. I have recently broken a bad habit, which I think is behind all this. I was a left foot braker, you know, left foot break, right foot accelerator, at the same time. I think that’s why people run stop signs and drive through the front door of their favorite grocery store. Give the brain too many choices at once and bad things are going to happen.
Driving to the office on the interstate one morning, a man looked to his left and there was a woman, pulling past him going about 75 mph, with her face up next to her rear view mirror putting on her eyeliner! Before he knew it, she was drifting over into his lane, still working on her make-up. It scared him so badly he dropped his electric shaver, which knocked the doughnut out of his hand. Then in all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car, using his knees against the steering wheel, his cell phone dropped away from his ear and fell into the cup of coffee, which he was holding between his legs. The coffee splashed out burning his thigh and ruining his phone and disconnecting an important call. After telling his story at the office he added, “Stupid women drivers!” Hey! Where’s the love here! Go look in the mirror pal!
[Matthew 9: 35-38] The world, our nation and we as a people, have lost our way. Matthew wrote about Jesus, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” We are harassed by the evil one night and day. Self-satisfaction has become more important than our journey through life as servants to one another in God’s love. Mankind is convinced that a satisfying life is one of wealth and me, me, me. STOP! Look around! What has it all accomplished? All we seem to have done in the past fifty years is push God out of the way because He demands too much thought, energy and time, more well spent on improving life. So, drugs and alcohol and tobacco, free sex and abortion, un-natural lifestyles and out-of-control greed are improvements on life? Life is for learning of the Creator and the will for His creation. God will not put up with our ignoring Him much longer; wasting the life and country, He has given us. Look at world history.