The Light Turned Yellow

       The light turned yellow just in front of him so he did the right thing - he stopped at the crosswalk. Sure he could have made it through by accelerating but he wasn't in That much of a hurry. Better to be safe...
       The woman tailgating him was furious. She honked her horn and screamed in frustration as she slammed on her brakes, causing her to drop both her make-up and cell phone.
       As she continued her ranting, a tap on her window revealed the face of a very serious police officer. He ordered her out of the car, handcuffed her, and took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
       A few hours later, another policeman approached the cell, opened the door, and escorted her back to the booking desk where the arresting officer waited with her personal belongings.
       "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," he began, "but when I pulled up behind you and heard the horn blaring, the wild ranting and raving, and saw the frequent hand gestures, I also noticed the 'What would Jesus do?' bumper sticker, the 'Choose life' license frame, the chrome Fish emblem, and the 'Follow me to Sunday School' window sticker...so naturally, I assumed the car must have been stolen!"

OUCH!  There are two obvious lessons we could learn from this story. The first is that you should never have anything on your car that could compromise your witness when you're angry or frustrated.  That's a common answer to this dilemma. The second, and more appropriate choice, is just to remember at all times that others are watching you, so live (and drive) as if Jesus is your constant companion. He never leaves us, remember, so whatever you do and however you act directly reflects on His image in the world.  Perhaps that's why the Apostle Paul admonished us in Philippians 2:12 to "Work out your salvation with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchful against temptation and shrinking from whatever might offend God or discredit the name of Christ!" (amplified) It's a difficult task, but realizing the risk of tarnishing His name, it is one worth striving for.

**adapted from an anonymous story found in the teachers' lounge at MES :)