I was the summer of1989. I was eleven and in a hurry. It was a Sunday night…it was church and dinner at Westside Christian Church in J-ville (Jacksonville), Fl. I was in a hurry to play football with the boys…the crew. At the time, I remember that our front doors in the lobby on both sides were solid wood with no way of seeing who was coming…well for me at least because I wasn’t big enough to see out of the top peep holes. My mom had told me not run and slow down because people were coming in with food for the dinner through the front doors. “Yeah, whatever” is what I said to myself. My mom didn’t understand. It was football time before church and it was the most important thing. So I ran for the doors and I jumped and kicked the front door open. Now as soon as I did that…I knocked one of our older ladies down. I just didn’t knock her down…there were stairs (only 3 steps up but nonetheless) and she fell down those stairs and dropped the food on the ground that she had spent her entire afternoon preparing. My response was “whoops” and I continued on to go play football. About a minute later, I heard a familiar voice. It was a voice I feared. It was my dad and I heard him say, “James Marshall, you come inside right now…boy you better hurry up.” I was a dead man walking.
I am reminded of this story as I write this because I am aggravated. I am aggravated that just within the day…someone thought it was important to ride my bumper as I was going the speed limit in a residential zone. Ray Charles could read the “Baby on Board” sign on my truck as well as seen my children in the back seat but apparently this person riding my tail didn’t concern themselves with my family’s well-being only their desire to get where they wanted go. I am aggravated that I am also almost got into an accident because the person driving in front me was busy texting while they were driving. Apparently it was more important to this individual to text their responses rather than calling or just waiting or better yet just pulling over. I am aggravated because as continued to drive, there was another individual who decided that they didn’t want to be stuck behind a bus so they cut me off last second, making swerve my truck as not to hit their car. I beeped my horn and received the middle finger. All of these people had the, “yeah, whatever” mentality. Apparently I didn’t understand, they had to get where they had to go and it was more important than my well-being or safety of me and my family.
My father told me as I came inside the church that I had problem. He said look, “You’ve hurt this lady and all of her time and money she spent into making something for the dinner tonight is out the window because you decided it was more important to not listen to your mother, be disobedient, and in a hurry.” She had cut herself from falling down the steps. She was crying…and now so was I. My impatience, my disobedience, my selfishness had someone. Now it wasn’t all that bad but it could have been.
I am reminded as I share this story that I was eleven…but sometimes we don’t grow up or learn our lesson the first time…as adults we tend to still think like children. Paul told the church in Corinth, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11). What’s our rush? Why are we so impatient? What is so important that we don’t care for the well-being of others and put their lives as well as ours at risk? Slow down, breathe. Paul reminds the church in Philippi, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4). Now that reference has a lot to do with Jesus. Those of us that are Christians…how is the Light of Jesus shining through us when we are in a rush…not patient…not caring for the well-being of other because we are in a hurry or something is more important? How does it represent the fruit that the Spirit produces through the Christians? (Galatians 5) It doesn’t!
All I am saying today is this: Be safe and be considerate…slow down, relax, God is sovereign! Be obedient and patient today. Think of not only your well-being, but those around you as well. Demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in all that you do. Remember that there is nothing more important than loving God and loving people!
