Good morning! Today you are going to learn one of the most embarrassing stories that I hate to even admit it was real! I had my driver’s license for a very short time and I was taking one of my brothers to a soccer game in Kensington, NJ. This was around forty-five minutes away from our house and an area that I was very unfamiliar with.
Because it was back before everyone had cell phones (I can’t even believe I’m saying that), I had to rely on either a Rand McNally map or directions from Mapquest to find the way. As we got off the highway and closer to where the game was going to be, we ended up in the main part of town where there were one way streets.
Now that I’m older and have experience with driving through New York City, I have no problem with one way streets – but for an eighteen year old that hasn’t had his license for that long, one way streets were difficult to navigate.
We ended up driving the WRONG WAY down a one way street and because we were downtown, there was a police officer on bicycle patrol. This is where the embarrassing part comes in. I locked eyes with the officer and it’s like he knew where I was going to end up. He peddled (yes PEDDLED LOL) his bike to the other street where I ended up. Then he waved me over to the side of the road – essentially, pulling me over on his bike LOL! How embarrassing?!
The police officer ended up issuing me a ticket and sent me on my merry way. I could not believe what had just happened but thankful that we didn’t get hurt by going the wrong way. It’s not like I saw a big sign on the side of the road that said ‘Wrong Way’ and deliberately disregarded the rules of the road, it was an honest mistake. Once we noticed we were heading in the wrong direction, we tried to find a way to get back on a safer path – even if that meant I had to suffer the embarrassment of being ‘pulled over’ by a bicycle cop!
The same is true in our lives, sometimes we find ourselves going the ‘Wrong Way’ and we need someone to help us get back on the right track. When the bicycle cop pulled me over, I was watching all the people around me wondering what it must look like for a cop sitting on his bike writing a ticket for me in my car – how ridiculous! When a family member or friend pulls us to the side to bring us correction in love, it may be embarrassing and it may hurt. But we need to be thankful for people that love us enough to be honest with us and risk hurting us to get us off the ‘Wrong Way’ path and in a safer place.
Think about what could have happened to me and my brother if I would have kept going in the wrong direction – there could have been a head on collision and we could have put others in danger. The same is true when we live in opposition to God’s Word. We put ourselves and others in danger and sometimes we aren’t even aware of it. It’s important for us to have people who are looking out for our best interests and the interests of others – like the police officer cared for my safety and the safety of others.
“Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.”
Proverbs 10:17
“Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.”
Proverbs 15:32
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:11
How true are all three of these verses?! Especially this last one – no discipline is ever fun! When the Word of God or someone close to you points out one of your flaws or failures, it hurts having to accept the truth. BUT, if we take the correction, it produces righteousness and peace, knowing that you have nothing to fear because you are living right.
I’m thankful for the people in my life that have paid attention to when I started down the wrong way, to gently guide me back to the path that leads to righteousness. Instead of resenting the people who love you for their honesty, learn to love it – it will cause you to grow!
Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us how to live right! Thank You for our guide, the Bible! Thank You for the people who care about us so much to approach us in love and bring correction for our own good. Help us to learn to love the truth, even when it hurts. Help us to invest in relationships like this to keep ourselves accountable to living for You! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 