One of my roommates, Alex, once had his car totaled by a hit and run driver. It happened before I moved into the house so I wasn’t there. But my other roommate, Mike and his friend Jonathan were on the porch. Mike went inside to go the bathroom and when he came out Jonathan was standing in the doorway a little askew saying, “I think somebody – I think somebody hit a car out here.” “What do you mean you think somebody hit a car,” Mike questioned. “Well man this black Mercedes came a swerving down the road and BAM hit right into Alex’s car smashing it all up.” “That sucks.”
When the police got there a few moments later they took down a little information and then sent a patrol car to go and look for a banged up black, or was it blue, Mercedes. The first cop grimly said “Sorry son, but unless you catch a hit and run in the first fifteen minutes there isn’t much hope. He’ll probably take it to his cousin’s body shop in the morning an have them buff out the front fender.”
So there’s Alex with no car, and no hope for justice. Having to deal with the consequences of someone else’s action, not knowing why. I wonder if the person who hit Alex’s car ever even thought of making things right. He was probably drunk, more than likely had no insurance, and maybe even had a warrant out for his arrest. His situation probably made up his mind for him. It would be far easier to cover up his action than to face the consequences of what he had done.
Six months ago something happened. And when my sin removed the sheet over it’s head I started to wrestle with what to do with the monster I invited into my bed. I had the option to do a hit and run on the lives of dozens of people. Or I could pull over and admit what I had done.
When I went before the discipline committee at Johnson Bible College the first question they asked me was why I had chosen to come clean, why I decided to admit my fault when I could have just covered it up. I answered with a line from my favorite book To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is explaining to Scout why he is defending Tom Robinson “… if I didn’t [defend Tom Robinson] I couldn’t hold my head up in town… I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” I knew, that like Atticus, that if I didn’t come clean, if I didn’t admit my mistakes, if I didn’t take responsibility for my actions then I could never lead again, speak with authority again, I couldn’t ever hold my head up again.
It would have been easy for me to act just like a Black Mercedes on a summer’s night. It would have been easy to ignore it, pull the sheet up over my sin’s head and try and go through life. Simply pick up and leave. Bury everything as deep as possible. Or I could do the right thing and face up to my sin. I could face the consequences. I could do the right thing after doing so many wrong things. I decided to lead in the midst of my failure.
The last six months have not been easy. It hasn’t been easy stopping my life to pull over to the side of the road to deal with the mess I’ve made. Sinning is easy. Dealing with the consequences isn’t. Being truthful about your sin isn’t. It isn’t easy looking into the eyes of dozens of people whom you love and respect and who respect and love you and telling them you sinned, that you messed up and now you have to deal with the consequences. The act of sin is easy, but the moments after are more difficult than we can often imagine.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Which road will you take? Will you be a hit and run sinner, running from your problems. Or will you do the right thing and come clean? Six months ago I choose the road less traveled by, the road I knew was right to take. And it truly has made all the difference.
May you confront your sin and shoulder the consequences honorably.
May you be bold enough to pull over and take care of things.
May you choose the road less traveled and may it make all the difference.
Grace and Peace,
Justin Friel
jt.friel@gmail.com - I’d appreciate comments
© 2009 Justin Friel
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