Obeying the Bent Stop Sign

Obeying the Bent Stop Sign

12/9/11

The stop sign, how many of these do we see every day?  How common are they in our lives?  How many have we ignored?  What would happen to us if stop signs were never invented?  What other devices would we have to protect us in these needed situations?  These questions and probably hundreds more like them have at one time or another have crossed our minds at some point in our driving or riding careers.  Many times we do not even realize their importance in our lives and the protection that it garnishes.  God has established some similar spiritual laws that we do not remember all of the time as well, but are just as important as the stop signs we see every day.

The stop sign is a simple invention to warn us of potential oncoming danger that could change the course of our lives.  The stop sign was invented back in 1902 which looked like a combination of a modern traffic light and the stop sign.  The stop sign’s modern shape and simple letters has crossed many language barriers, a change in style and sometimes the color of the sign itself but one thing always remains is its meaning.  If you drive around the town or community that you live in and look at the locations of stop signs you can get a feel of what type of activity occurs there on a routine basis.  Stop signs are usually placed where the greatest or highest threat of danger is posed to the public.

My father and mother have travelled in many countries and have seen their share of various kinds of stop signs.  I remember one time my father was showing us some slides of his recent trip and one of the pictures was of a stop sign, he asked the people in the room what that sign meant and all of us responded.  Dad quickly replied that in that country that sign meant absolutely nothing.  Even though it is against the law to disobey the stop sign humans are still behind the wheels of automobiles and their minds operate exactly as other humans located in other parts of the world.

Here in the United States, a stop sign has its own shape, color, painting of the letters, have its specific spot on a corner and be made to a specific height.  It is placed in locations where potential danger could be encountered at any given time of the day or night.  It serves as a warning to all parties in that area to serve caution around them.  The red color catches our eye as we approach from a car and the height of the sign completes the same mission if we are walking close by.  Not many people can pass a stop sign and honestly say they did not see it, unless of course we are not paying attention to our surroundings at that particular moment.

Stop signs have also provided humans with a target to shoot at or to run into it when they are not following the current circumstances around them.  Some ignore it completely and run it like it was never there, completely disregarding why it was placed there.  How many times have we approached a stop sign and quickly looked in both directions and then continued on our course without stopping.  Anyone ever rolled right through a stop sign or even perform what is called a “California” stop?  All of these situations prove dangerous to us and could spell disaster if something were to go wrong at that instant.  Stop signs are there for a reason and that is why it is against the law if their warning is not adhered to no matter what the circumstances are.  It seems petty sometimes how stiff a fine we have to pay when we get caught not completely stopping at a stop sign.  You want to have fun sometime take a book and a blanket with you and sit under a tree or bush at a corner with a stop sign.  Just watch the people as they approach it and see how they complete the stopping process, I guarantee you will have a bunch of laughs.

How casual we have become with this pole that is present in front of us and how many ways do we try and to disobey its command.  We humans believe that we can do things our own way and still make it home in time for dinner.  How familiar we have become with the presence of the stop sign and even though we see the stop sign and we know that it is wrong to ignore its command, we still run through it and do it our own way.  How many times have we heard about or read about accidents that occur when people fail to obey or deliberately ignore stop signs?  It often makes me wonder what was going on in that person’s head at that time, but I cannot point fingers at everyone for all of us have ran a stop sign in our driving careers. 

There is a bent stop sign at one of the entrances / exits my place of employment.  It is an odd thing that sticks up from the ground but about half way up it the pole bends to the right for about a foot, bends back straight and then continues its rise upwards.  I unconsciously look at it every day as I am crossing the parking lot but most of the time I do I do not pay attention to it because it is not in my present path to the main hospital building.  When I am crossing the entrance way towards the other building I look both ways to make sure that no cars are coming down the road.  This is the time that I occasionally notice the bent stop sign not because it has anything to do with my course but peculiar bent stance catches my eye and then I wonder who hit it.  But as I pass it every day and when I do venture to look at it, it is still posted in the same place reminding whoever comes its way that danger could be close at hand. 

As man has provided these stop signs to warn us of potential danger, God has provided the same laws to warn us of potential spiritual danger.  The Bible has many stories, parables, protective laws, and cultural settings that provide everyone with a guide of when to be aware of their surroundings.  Some of us have grown up reading about these stories and they are engrained into our everyday lives.  But even those of us who have taught these practices still ignore them in certain instances.  We fall into the same category as the ignorance of the stop sign, we know it is there but we still have to prove that we can do it on our own.  Then there are those of us who have never read about these stories and do not know about the simple spiritual laws that God has supplied for us.  No matter which category we fall into God has made a way for each of us to follow.

God has placed these spiritual stop sign laws in our life for a reason.  He has a purpose for our lives and He wants to make sure that we have the opportunity to complete His purpose.  The spirit that God has placed into our lives He put there personally when He created man and this spirit is the means by which He communicates with us.  Most of the time we have no idea what is being said or what type of communication that transpires, but it is there and it is alive and it speaks.  When God sees an event that has potential to harm our lives He motions our spirit to stop and to look around for danger. 

But how many times have we been “cruising” down our spiritual highway and totally ignore what God is telling us or just walking and singing to our own tune in life.  Why do we as humans believe that we are in control of our existence and believe that we need no one to guide us?  It always fascinates me to hear humans say that they have everything under control when in reality we have absolutely nothing in control that surrounds us.  Sometimes we cannot even control the itching and scratching processes that occur on our bodies.  In other words, we are looking around and not paying attention to the stop signs that God has placed in our lives.  It is sad to say but the majority of Christians and churches of the present day are performing this exact lifestyle.

Don’t you just love to come upon a police officer that has someone pulled over to the side of the road?  You slow down and drive real slow and as you pass by you pretend you are not looking at the people involved but inside you are just dying to see how the person is reacting?  Some of us do not care what the people think and we do the old rubberneck trick as we pass by the scene.  Even though God usually does not call out your violation publically He will check your spirit so that you know what you understand what happened and why He is calling you on it.  And then there is your response to Him after you have been found out, this event can be even more dramatic than the act itself.  All of which God already knows the outcome of the situation.

These laws are not there to control our lives but to guide us along our way in life.  God knows that our lives are difficult enough alone so He believed that it would be a safe bet to give us some help along our journey.  God does not wish to control our lives with these laws, but to protect us when times danger arises.  God loves us so much that He set these laws in motion so that we will understand how to react when the time is appropriate.  It is always best to be prepared for as many obstacles as possible when the road becomes long and narrow.  I know that there are many different translations of the Bible present but whichever one you chose to read the message is still the same.