Have you seen any of the Fast & Furious movies? While they have clever plots and interesting characters, it’s no stretch to say the central theme of the films is cars careening along streets and highways at racetrack speeds ... and the occasional crash.
There have been several of these films, seven as of this writing (though ... why stop there?). The 67 in my title doesn’t refer to film count; it’s the year I turned 16 and earned my driver’s license.
Neither fast nor furious was part of that process.
When the incident occurred, it was less than a month before my 16th birthday. Mom had become my driving instructor, because, I later learned, it frightened Dad. This was in the days before mandatory Driver’s Education classes.
After taking me out to drive a few country roads —just to be sure I could keep the thing between the ditches— she decided I was ready for town streets. Much of this period is a blur in my memory, but I clearly recall sitting at the green light at the intersection of Ninth Street and Kentucky Avenue that fateful day
As we approached the traffic signal on Ninth, it turned red. So, of course, I brought the car to a halt. I was feeling pretty good about it all, that being my first time to stop at a traffic signal. And then, the odd thing: Mom looked over and said, "When the light turns green, don't go. Wait until I tell you."
I remember being puzzled. I had read my driver's handbook. I knew we were supposed to stop on red and go on green. In fact, not only was it expected, it was my right. When the light is green, I have the right of way.
But, when that light turned green, I just sat there.
I sat at that green light —even though the driver behind me honked his horn at me— because my mother told me to.
Then, a car ran the red light.
Fast and furious, that car cut straight through the space we would have occupied. If I had asserted my rights and driven forward as soon as I had the green light, we would have been T-boned from the right.
I learned a life lesson that day.
I call it "jumping the green." That’s my phrase for those actions we take simply because we can. They are allowed, so we do them. But, as was so stunningly demonstrated to me that day late in my 15th year, such actions, though allowed, may not always be wise.
As life moves around us, often fast and sometimes furious, contemplating this week’s Corinthians passage might be useful. Yes, we have incredible freedom, but we don’t have to always exercise that freedom. Something might be technically legal, but not helpful, wise, or spiritually appropriate. Since we have the choice, we should choose what is best.
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Photo of a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda very similar to the one in which I learned to drive:
Different versions of this reflection have appeared in prior years.
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Zoom with us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00 and enjoy a great hour of Bible discussion, laughter, and whatever breakfast you bring to the Zoom meeting ... it’s wide open here; absolutely no restrictions on what you eat or drink 😜
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.
Contact me for the Zoom link.
Blessings,
Steve
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SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK
Find them here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=611 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51
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