Will I never learn? I got a speeding ticket this morning. On the way to school. For speeding through a school zone! I was at it again. . . multitasking. Quizzing my daughter on her spelling words as I rambled down a too-familiar stretch of road that I drive on a daily basis.
I told the officer that I'm a mother of four, that I NEVER speed through school zones (which obviously is no longer true), and that it was my kids who were distracting me. . . and that I was very, very sorry. Then I looked up at him with my sad, teary eyes. (That always works with my husband.) The officer said, "Please slow down, ma'am," and handed me my citation. Despite my obvious pleas for mercy, I received my penalty.
I wasn't sure whether to be heartbroken or just mad about the injustice of it all. After all, I am a decent, law-abiding citizen 99.9% of the time. I'm responsible. I vote. I recycle. I turn my library books in on time. I even deposit my empty popcorn bag in the trash can at the movie theater! And I usually feel completely justified in looking down on those who don't!
And yet here I am, with a ticket. . . a penalty. Because of one little technicality. A little rule about how fast a person ought to drive on a certain stretch of road at a certain time of day. Even when she's overwhelmed, exhausted and completely distracted. It wasn't really even my fault, right? He totally should have cut me some slack.
And then I read, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10) Ouch! That pesky James, always pointing out the blatant truth without one ounce of sugar-coating.
So I guess I'm really not a law-abiding citizen after all.
It's easy for me to downplay my sins, my shortcomings, the reality of my depraved nature. I fool myself into thinking I'm, mmmm, decent. But the truth is there is "no one righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10) My default setting is sin. So when I'm distracted and turn myself to auto-pilot, I mess up. Just like I messed up and went coasting through a school zone at 38 miles per hour. I guess that's why Peter says to be "self controlled and alert." (1 Peter 5:8) I'm pretty sure Peter was well-acquainted with his own default setting when he wrote that!
Lord, let me never be so smug that I lean on my own understanding, trust in my own "goodness," or cruise through life on spiritual auto-pilot. I have a keen enemy, who is prowling and waiting for such an opportunity.
And thanks be to God, who offered His only Son as payment for my penalty--both for my willful sins, and the ones I commit when I forget to pay attention. I no longer have that stamp of "guilty" on my forehead. . . He washed it clean away.
Now if I could just find someone to pay the fine on my speeding ticket!
No comments:
Post a Comment